What's new?
by Diluted Industry
Summary: (Working Title) AU! Duo is offered the chance to give a new home a one-week trial run to see if he enjoys it. New and Old friends, laughs and tears. [Contains SlashYaoi-whatever.]
1. What's new?

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction.  
  
Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it.  
  
Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**One: What's new?**

"Duo please calm yourself! The home we have found will be good for you. There is a school not a fifteen minute walk from the house, plenty to do around the area and indeed around the city. The Charlatan's don't mind you having your bike with you whilst your there either."

Sister Helena Joseph's sat slightly hunched forward at her desk.

On the surface of the desk sat a laptop with various wires attached to the back and disappearing down a small hole specially installed for that very purpose. Papers sat in a five tier paper-tray to the right of the computer while boxes of important files sat to the left.

"Why now?" A youth, sixteen of age sat with his arms folded stiffly over his chest. His near amethyst coloured eyes shone with annoyance with glints of defiance. Duo Maxwell wasn't a happy young man. He enjoyed it at the orphanage. Well, about as one can possibly enjoy it. He was the oldest of all the children stationed here and they had unofficially made him their 'team leader', so to speak. And he was more than pleased to help them in any way he could.

Sister Helena telling him now that they had found him a home with a couple that wanted to adopt him wasn't going down well at all.

The woman sighed, rubbing her temples lightly in an attempt to relief the ache she was feeling behind them already. The pair had only been speaking for five minutes and she was already in need of a painkiller. She had known this would be a hard thing for Duo to accept with the track record of 'homes' he had been sent to in the past, but she truly believed in her heart that this was the right thing to do.

"The Charlatan's chose you, Duo. You know how hard it is for someone your age to be placed in foster care. And though adoption at your age is rare, it isn't unheard of. They want to adopt you; they told me they see something in you. You're intelligent, smart, caring… they understand…" She left the sentence open after the last word, not knowing but having an idea of what was going through the youth's mind.

"Understand?" Duo exclaimed. "How the he-" He cut himself off at that and corrected himself. "How could they understand what it's like for kids like me?" He said more calmly. He might not have been happy right then but he respected the Sister enough not to curse in front of her.

"Yes Duo, understand. They have another child in their care. They adopted Morgan when she was a year old and now she is 16, healthy and blissfully happy if not a little wild. Not unlike yourself in that department." Her lips twitched slightly but didn't move further. "Mrs Charlatan was adopted herself at a young age so yes, she does understand. Look, will you go stay with them for a week as a trial period? Start the school, meet new friends, and see new people. Try and get along with the Charlatan's?"

"How far is it?" Duo asked after a couple of long, silent minutes. Sister Helena smiled while she inwardly rejoiced at the youth agreeing to the trial.

"It's all of half an hour's drive. You can still visit the children here when you want; you know I'd never intentionally keep you from them. But I ask that you stay at the Charlatan's the whole week, make your decision and if you want to stay, then you're free to visit any time." She eyed the teen before her. "Agreed?" Duo held his tongue and just thought about his current situation for a moment or two.

"A week. I'll call every day just to check in." Helena smiled brilliantly and rose from her seat. Duo followed suit, preparing himself for what he knew was coming. And he wasn't disappointed. Helena rushed towards him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Oh Duo, you are a star." She said sweetly, knowing the tone of voice she used annoyed the boy.

"Yeh yeh." He replied sounding much like he rolled his eyes whilst saying it. He didn't however; pull away from the caring arms of the Sister. He hugged her back just as tightly.

There was a knock at the door and the pair pulled apart. Duo grinned at the woman before turning towards the door. He opened it to see a man and woman stood there with their hands clasped together. "Is Sister Helena here?" The woman asked Duo and for a fleeting moment, the teen wondered if these were his new 'parents'. He shrugged the thought off and nodded his head.

"Aye, she is. Sister Helena, you have visitors." He said to the now seated woman as he turned his head to look at her.

"Thank you Duo, send them in please." The teen nodded.

"If you need me, I'll be outside petting the bike with a white satin glove." He grinned at her exaggerated eye-roll and motioned for the couple to enter the office before walking out and closing the door behind him.

"Duo! Duo! Come quick!" a young voice cried out and Duo spun around just in time to see a five year old boy running towards him. The teen held up his hands and bent down on one knee to stop him.

"Woah there little feller. Calm down. Breath. That's it. Now, what's wrong Harry?" Harry panted as he stood in front of the older boy, his bright blue eyes were wide.

"Someone, a girl…" he was pointing strangely in the direction of the orphanage entrance. "She's snooping around yer bike! Come on!" He grabbed Duo's arm and proceeded to drag the youth to his feet and then in the direction he was pointing.

Scowling slightly Duo stopped. He bent down to hoist the five year old up into his arms and continued on his walk. Harry giggled and Duo grinned. The grin however turned to yet another scowl when he felt the boy lean back to grab a hold of Duo's hair. You see, his hair was long. Very, very, very… long. He had it braided to keep it out of his face but it still fell down his back, passed his back-side, stopping only when it reached mid-thigh.

It was his pride and joy; he loved his hair, he looked after it well and let almost no one touch it. The only people who got to touch it were him, obviously, Sister Helena and a few of the younger kids that found it 'fun' to play with.

"Take it out and I'll tickle you till you cry." He mock-warned as was rewarded with Harry's infamous 'I'm-so-innocent' expression. "That look doesn't work on me kiddo. I invented it!" The child pouted and instead of unravelling the braid as he had intended to upon its capture, he played with the tip.

The pair finally managed to make their way outside only to find the area around his bike surrounded by almost all the kids of the orphanage. At the centre of it all, a girl was crouched on her knees inspecting the beautifully polished engine. Dup frowned a little, wondering just who the girl was and why the hell she was near his bike – 'his' bike!

"Duo!" a number of voices exclaimed at the sight of the youth and Harry. The sound must have startled the girl because she jumped slightly, turning around to see what all the fuss was about.

"Hey guys." He greeted the crowd of fifteen. He shifted and let Harry down. He instantly felt a tug on his pant legs and grinned down at the little girl stood there. "What's up Kim?" He laughed as the three year old held her arms out to be picked up. Duo hoisted her up as he did Harry and she continued right where Harry left off with the end of his braid. Honestly! He would never understand the workings of a child's mind.

"She's looking at yer bike Duo!" Sam, a five year old cried out as he pointed to the girl. There were shouts of 'Yeh' flying at him and he smiled.

"Well I'm here now so you can calm down." It was then, and only then, that he looked directly at the girl's face. "Who are you?" He demanded. The girl smiled at him, a flicker of amusement in her eyes at the sight of him with the child resting on his hip.

"Morgan-Roe." She answered simply. Duo shifted and set the three year old he was holding on the ground. He looked around at the children before smiling widely at them all.

"Go play around the back you lot. Keep away from Sister Helena's flowers; you all know she loves those things." The group cried out excitedly and loudly before they all took off towards the back garden of the Orphanage.

"You're good with them." The girl commented thoughtfully as she stepped away from his bike. Resisting the overwhelming urge to raise an eyebrow and mutter a sarcastic comment, he took the opportunity to step up to his 'pride and joy' and swing one leg over so he was straddling its seat. "So you're the infamous 'Duo', are you?" There was a grin in her voice but he didn't even look at her, instead he took up the task of altering a few dials that seemed to have been tampered with – no doubt by Sam. The boy loved this bike almost as much as Duo did.

"Look, if you're the Duo I think you are, we may as well get better acquainted." She sighed and the braided teen froze, then he slowly turned a hardened gaze upon her suddenly wary form.

"Why would we do a silly thing like that?" He asked her, his voice even and she hesitated before giving her answer.

"Because my folks are the one's who are adopting you. They're just speaking with Sister Helena now." At this, Duo narrowed his eyes. He was off his bike and backing her into the wall of the building before she could utter a word of protest.

"Let's get one thing perfectly clear, Morgan-Roe." He said in a low, menacing tone. "I'll be at your 'folks' house a week. And after that week, should I feel I don't like it, I'll be leaving again. This is purely a trial run. No one puts me into a home without my approval, I'm not an adult yet but I'm certainly old enough to make my own choices in 'that' department." With that said, he stalked off back inside the Orphanage – leaving a slightly scared but mainly intrigued Morgan-Roe Charlatan behind him.

He slammed the door shut behind him and walked with a purpose. The noise sounded throughout the building but he didn't care. He heard Sister Helena's office door quickly jolt open and three sets of footfalls make their way towards his seething form, now stationed in the kitchen staring out the window, watching the children play in the back garden.

"Duo!" Helena cried as she rushed over to him. "What's the matter Duo?" He felt the hand on his shoulder and reluctantly turned around. Though as soon as he was facing the Sister, he realised he was also facing his future-possible-adoptive parents. His eyes hardened once again.

"I'll just go pack my things shall I?" He ground out before bowing his head slightly at Sister Helena and exiting the kitchen.

"Duo!" Helena called him back, but the youth didn't respond.

"Oh dear, what is the matter with him?" Mrs Charlatan questioned.

* * *

**Written by Dulited Industry.**


	2. Introduction Revelation

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction.  
  
Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it.  
  
Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**Two: Introduction Revelation.**

_"Duo!"__Helena__ cried as she rushed over to him. "What's the matter Duo?" He felt the hand on his shoulder and reluctantly turned around. Though as soon as he was facing the Sister, he realised he was also facing his future-possible-adoptive parents. His eyes hardened once again._

_"I'll just go pack my things shall I?" He ground out before bowing his head slightly at Sister Helena and exiting the kitchen._

_"Duo!"__Helena__ called him back, but the youth didn't respond._

_"Oh dear, what is the matter with him?" Mrs Charlatan questioned._

**x-x-x-x-x****  
  
**

Duo growled as he threw his clothing into the first of two large duffel bags. He hated being told what to do. And he despised being told what he was 'going' to do – as if the person telling him had already made the decision for him. He only listened to Sister Helena's requests because they were always kind and polite and he respected her greatly for all her work here.

Once the first duffel bag was full, he moved onto the next one. He shoved in his remaining two pairs of jeans as well as he underwear before piling photographs in from around his room as well as the laptop he'd bought the week previous. Ten minutes and a number of other items later, Duo was sat at the bottom of the stone steps outside the main entrance of the orphanage.

"Hey, Duo." The teen recognised the voice as that belonging to Morgan-Roe's from before and scowled.

"What?" He demanded.

"Listen, I'm sorry for pissing you off earlier." Despite his foul mood, Duo couldn't help but crack the merest of smiles at the language Morgan used.

"I don't do well with being told what I'm going to be doing." He offered as an explanation to his outburst. He knew he had to at least try get along with these people, and since he didn't exactly start on a high note with them, he may as well try and make it up. "I choose what I'm doing, where I'm doing it and when I'm doing it. When I'm asked to do something, I'll choose whether or not I'll be doing it. I'm not trying to act like I'm a spoilt brat who always gets his own way, because I'm not. Hell, I'm far from it. I just don't react in a positive manner when told for example where I'm going to be living till at least my 18th birthday." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Morgan nod silently, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Her hair was short and was streaked a number of colours. Her eye make-up was dark but didn't seem to take over her face. Her skin was slightly pale; her cheekbones were high with soft curves. And to finish, her nose had a nose-stud in its left side and her lips donned a lip ring as well as a light coat of rose lipstick.

"I think I can understand." She said finally. "You might enjoy it at ours though. Mom and Dad are great, the neighbours are fantastic. We have this next door neighbour with two children. Well, two twin teenagers. They're my age, 16. The girl is called Hilde. She's-" But before she could continue her explanations, the door behind them opened. Morgan looked back to see her parent's and Sister Helena step out onto the porch.

Duo lowered his eyes to the ground and slowly got to his feet. "I'm going to say bye to the kids. Back in a few minutes." He said before disappearing around the corner and towards the back garden. When he reached his destination he stopped to just watch them. They looked happy with each other. Happy playing with each other.

He sighed and whistled loudly, gaining their attention. He motioned for them all over to him. When they were all around him he crouched down so he was at eye level with some of the youngest of the bunch.

"Listen guys." He began, trying to find appropriate words. "I've got some news for you all. You see I'm… Sister Helena has found me a home to live in." Gasps and cries of anguish were heard from the group. The three year old Kim, rushed forward and threw her arms around Duo's neck.

"Duo no!" She cried and he hugged her close to him.

"I'll be back. I'm going for a week and seeing if I like it. After that I can either come back here or stay there." He pulled away from the child and kissed her forehead. "But if I stay there, I'll be coming back here anyway. There's no way I'm leaving all you here on your own. I'll visit all the time, I promise you." He looked at them all in turn and saw various levels of sadness and hurt. The oldest among the group was 13 year old Tara. She had her arms folded over her chest and was looking at Duo with a small smile on her face.

"Good luck Duo." She said to him before walking back around to the front of the building and in through the front door. A second of silence passed after her departure and he was attacked with hugs and tearful goodbyes.

Five minutes later, Duo walked from the back garden, down the side of the house (the path beside the drive way) and stopped at his bike. He saw that his bags had already been taken to the Charlatan's car and offered the couple a small smile of thanks. He kicked up the stand of his bike and steadied it with one hand whilst he picked up the helmet he'd left on the back, hooking it over his wrist.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Sister Helena walk towards him with an almost regretful look on her face. He turned to face her and grinned brightly in spite of himself.

"Sorry about earlier, I was upset." He offered and she smiled as she hugged him.

"Take care of yourself Duo. I'll see you in a week."

"Will do." He kissed her cheek and rolled his bike down the drive way and onto the road, halting at the curb side. He looked at the Charlatans and smiled slightly. "I'll follow you on this… If that's alright" He said, a minute trace of fear lining his voice. He didn't want to leave his bike behind and although Sister Helena had told him they had approved of him having it, he still was cautious.

"That's perfectly fine Duo." Mr Charlatan said before he and his wife got into their car. Duo figured Morgan-Roe had already slipped into the back seat and had been waiting for them. He slipped on his helmet, secured it tightly and started up his bike.

He gave the car a ten second head start before following. He realised with no surprise that he wouldn't be finding the route back to the orphanage a hassle. He knew these streets like the back of his hand. The surrounding areas were a hobby that each time he went out for a ride without any particular purpose in mind, he'd create more lines on his mental map.

It was actually a 20 minute drive to his 'new' home and he filed the information away to 'inform' Sister Helena at the next opportunity.

When he arrived at the Charlatan's house a full 25 seconds after they did due to him slowing a little to view the neighbourhood, he saw Mr Charlatan removing his bags from the boot of the car.

The street was nice. It wasn't too posh, prim nor proper… it was peace and ease all rolled into one. It looked like the area the Orphanage was in and that thought alone made Duo smile. He cut the engine to his bike when he stopped directly behind the Charlatan's car in their drive way.

He unclipped his helmet and pulled it off, shaking his head a little to loosen up his hair. He kicked the stand down and removed himself from his bike to go over (after he clipped on a complex three-tier bike lock) and relieve Mr Charlatan of Duos own bags.

"It's alright Mr Charlatan, I'll get those." Duo said quickly as he picked up the bags.

"Are you sure they aren't a little heavy?" The man asked in concern. Duo just looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he effortlessly picked both bags up. "Not too heavy then." Mr Charlatan grinned. The braided youth grinned back and followed the family into their – his house.

Once inside the house Duo was immediately shown to the room he'd be using. It wasn't big but it was big enough to fit a double bed and a desk in comfortably. There was a wardrobe built-in to the wall opposite the wall his bed was placed against. He put his bags on the bed and opened one of them. He then fished out his laptop and set it atop of the desk.

"Are you alright?" Mrs Charlatan asked from her position leaning against the open door frame. She smiled as he started a little.

"I'm dandy Mrs Charlatan. It just takes a bit of getting used to, that's all." He explained with a wry smile. "In the morning I'll be expecting Kim and Charlie to be bounding into my room and jumping on my bed, waking me up to play with them before breakfast is ready and they have to go with Sister Helena to school to drop the rest of the kids off." Mrs Charlatan laughed at the thought.

"Please, call me Annie or if you don't feel you can… call me Mrs C. It really doesn't matter to me as long as it's not Mrs Charlatan. It makes me feel older than I actually am." Duo chuckled and leaned back against his desk, folding his arms over his chest. "Duo, about earlier. What was the matter? If you don't want to answer, its fine, I just wanted to know. I mean, it wasn't anything to do with me or James was it?" She asked almost tentatively.

"No, it wasn't anything to do with you or Mr Charlatan. It was just the way Morgan-Roe worded something she said to me. It just had me riled up the wrong way. I know she didn't mean to say it how she did but it just got to me. It's nothing big and we've both apologised." Mrs C remained standing leaning against the door frame as Duo started to place various framed photographs around his room. Her interest was piqued when she saw his eyes lingering longer than the others one of the two he put on his bed-side table. She slowly walked over to it, making sure he knew she was there but remaining quiet all the same.

"His name was Solo." Duo offered when she picked the image up to get a better look. It was Duo obviously, his laughing eyes and long braid gave his identity away straight away but there was an older boy stood behind him with his arms wrapped tightly around Duo's chest. The boy had shoulder length black hair and had grinning bright blue eyes. His skin was tanned and that fact seemed to be made more prominent by the fact that he wore a brilliant white shirt.

"Was he your brother?" Mrs C asked the youth as he unpacked his clothing. When she received no answer she shook her head. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that. I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's fine. Solo was like a brother to me. He was… he was the best friend I could ever have." He let out a low chuckle. "He saved my hide many-a-time. We'd run rings around Sister Helena and Father Maxwell. They'd sometimes lecture Solo on how old he was and how it was his job to set a good example for the younger children at the home. The truth was, both Father Maxwell and Sister Helena didn't mind the messes we used to get into. It livened what could have become a very dreary place up." He paused and took a deep breath.

Mrs C seemed to get that Duo either couldn't go on talking about his friend any more at this point, or he wasn't ready to let it out to a stranger just yet so she smiled and placed the photo back on the bedside table.

"It's alright Duo. Do you fancy coming to see the next door neighbours with me?" The youth thought about it for all of three seconds before he found himself nodding an affirmative to her. "Great!" Mrs C said enthusiastically. "Come on then, let's go. You can finish unpacking later on and we can see about fixing the net through to this room if you like." He stared at her in shock. He had expected a welcome, of course he had. But he hadn't expected this level of kindness.

Before she could question him on his silence however, he shook his head and smiled at her as he held an arm out for her to take. Giggling like a school girl, she took it and led him out of the room, down the stairs and out of the house.

"We'll be back in ten minutes James! I'm taking Duo to meet Kei and the twins." Mrs C called out as she closed the front door behind them both. "I think Kei will like you, I know Hilde will absolutely love you if not for the fact that she can pout her way into getting a chance to play with your hair." She laughed at the scowl working its way onto Duo's face. "Come on Duo! You've got hair most girls would die for and most hairdressers would give their right leg to work on. You have to feel good about that on some level." She chuckled at the light blush working its way across his cheeks.

* * *

**Written by Diluted Industry.******


	3. Meet and Greet

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction.  
  
Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it.  
  
Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**Three: Meet and Greet. **

_"We'll be back in ten minutes James! I'm taking Duo to meet Kei and the twins." Mrs C called out as she closed the front door behind them both. "I think Kei will like you, I know Hilde will absolutely love you if not for the fact that she can pout her way into getting a chance to play with your hair." She laughed at the scowl working its way onto Duo's face. "Come on Duo! You've got hair most girls would die for and most hairdressers would give their right leg to work on. You have to feel good about that on some level." She chuckled at the light blush working its way across his cheeks.  
  
_

**x-x-x-x-x******

The pair reached the gate of Mrs C's next door neighbours and walked through. They then proceeded to stride up the path towards the front door where once there, Mrs C rapped lazily three times, waited a second before knocking once more. Duo eyed her curiously and received a look that clearly said 'what?' He shook his head and smiled.

"Heero! Let Alice in will you?" A woman's voice called from inside the house. No answer was given to the woman's question though rhetorical anyway. The door opened not 5 seconds after the woman had called out and both Duo and Mrs C were greeted with the site of a teenage boy Duo assumed was Heero who had clearly just removed himself from the shower. His dark brown hair stuck to his forehead and shoulders were water dripped freely down dark skin.

The teen facing him was obviously Asian in origin because as hard as Duo might have tried, there was no way on this earth he'd be able to get a tan like that. The boy had piercing cobalt eyes that seemed fixed on Duo. He had around his neck a simple black band that held a wooden fang of some sorts hanging at the hollow where his neck and chest meet. As Duo let his eyes roam over the other freely, he noted the muscles that seemed to be packed into the lean package before him.

Duo wasn't overly muscled himself, but he prided himself on keeping in shape and worked out twice a week as well as running at least 5 miles each morning before school or if it was a Saturday, work. Sunday's were his own days.

He finally noticed he'd be staring almost hungrily at the other teen and cleared his throat, quickly averting his gaze from the guy's body to his face.

"Heero, did we interrupt you?" Mrs C asked, seemingly oblivious to the way her possible-adoptive son was looking at her neighbour's son.

"Iie." Heero answered her after a moment. "I had just finished in the shower. Mom is just through there in the kitchen." He stood aside to allow his neighbour and the stranger into his house and closed the door once they were fully inside. "You can go through if you like, I'm sure she could use a break from the writing." He nodded once to Mrs C and then once again to the stranger before almost sprinting upstairs.

"Alice Alice! Come through, please! I hear you have a new arrival." The voice of Kei Yuy rang out once again and the pair made their way through to the kitchen Heero had gestured towards before.

When they entered the room they quickly found the owner of the voice from before seated at the dining table in front of a pad of A4 paper as well as an open laptop not unlike the one Duo had back in his room at the Charlatan's. The woman smiled brightly and rose from her seat. She was, in essence, beautiful. Duo suspected that Heero got some of his features from her such as his high cheekbones and dark eyes. Kei Yuy's hair was un bound and she seemed to have left the soft black curls flowing about her shoulders.

"Alice!" She exclaimed gleefully and the two women hugged before Heero's mother turned on him. "And you must be… Duo?" She took a step towards him and he had to force himself not to take a step back. Instead, he smiled warmly at her, accepting her fleeting embrace. It seemed she could sense his distress and made the contact as brief as she possibly could.

"Aye, that I am." He said easily, slipping behind one of his mask's once again.

"Ah! Delighted to finally meet you. I'm Kei Yuy. Call me Kei, everyone else does. The rather dashing young man you just met out there was Heero. His twin, Hilde is out at the moment but she should be back any time now. Please, sit down." She gestured both Mrs C and Duo to take seats at the table while she pottered around the kitchen grabbing this and that from here and there, making three cups of tea (after asking Duo how he took his – milk no sugar). When the hot drinks were made she carried them effortlessly over to the table and handed each to its owner.

"So Duo, tell me a bit about yourself." Kei smiled easily at him. "Nothing too personal mind, just enough to break the surface." He unconsciously nodded a thank you to her for not prying too deeply into his life and began to speak.

"Well, my name's Duo Maxwell, I'm sixteen years young, got long hair, large eyes and a smile to die for." To prove his point, he beamed at the women who in turn, giggled behind their hands. He just laughed off the statement. "I enjoy keeping in shape, I run every morning though this morning I didn't get a chance to so I'll have to go in a bit. I've got a Motorbike in the garden, my taste in music varies with my mood, naturally and I absolutely adore strawberries." He grinned at the women laughed.

"A man after my own heart." Kei clutched her heart dramatically before taking another sip of her tea. "Any romantic interest about? I mean, you're a handsome young man I'm sure you have girls cueing up to ask you out." Duo actually blushed at the comment and pulled his braid over his shoulders to fiddle with the tip of it; a nervous habit he'd picked up years before.

"No interests yet but I'm not really interested in girls." He said quietly.

"So you're gay?" Kei blurted out causing Alice to shoot her a look to which the other woman replied with an unconcerned shrug.

"Aye, I am." He said. His tone was laid back but inside his heart was beating erratically.

"So no interests there either?" The woman said almost to herself. Duo looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. Kei only grinned. He knew that grin. He dreaded that grin.

"Oh no! I can find my own interests." He laughed as she pouted. Alice had to laugh as well.

"It looks as though you've finally met your match Kei." Kei then, very childishly, stuck out her tongue at the woman. Duo rolled his eyes as he drained his tea.

He rose from his seat and looked around the room.

"What are you looking for dear?" Kei asked him when she'd calmed herself down.

"I just wanted to put this in the sink." He held up the empty mug.

"Oh, it's over there underneath the window. Just leave it on the board by it; I'll put it in the dishwasher later on." The woman instructed and Duo did just that. "Do you not want another?" She enquired and he shook his head.

"Thank you, but I think I better go get my run out of the way before I feel too lazy to do it." He grinned at the pair. "It's been wonderful meeting you Kei." They shook hands as soon as Duo had returned to the table.

"You too Duo. Don't be a stranger either. I expect to have regular conversations with you young man." He gave a mock salute and earned himself a swat on the arm. He then turned to Mrs C. "I'll see you at the house in a little while Mrs C." The woman nodded with a smile and the seated pair bade him goodbye, but not before Kei caught sight of her son behind Duo. "Heero be a dear and show Duo out please. He's going for the run he missed this morning." The other youth nodded once and waited for Duo to stop pointing a mock warning finger at his mother.

Duo waved the woman goodbye and started down the hallway towards the front door. He noticed with a slight pang of disappointment that Heero had clothed himself. Though the pang was quelled by the fact that Heero had slipped himself into form-hugging black jeans, a black tank top and a white unbuttoned shirt.

"Do you run, Heero?" Duo questioned when the front door was open.

"Every morning." Came the answer and Duo grinned.

"Fancy letting me join you tomorrow? I need to map out a decent route. I mean I could do five miles around the block but that wouldn't accomplish anything to my mental stability. I need scenery, no matter how reformed. So how about it?" He leaned back against the frame of the door and folded his arms over his chest.

"Fine. Tomorrow, 6:30. Be out there or I'm leaving you behind." With a nod and a bright smile, Duo bounded down the path and over the fence, landing effortlessly on the pavement beyond said fence. He turned around and saw that Heero was still stood at the door. The braided youth grinned and winked at his new neighbour causing the other to scowl and close the door. Duo just laughed and set back to the Charlatan's house.

"Hey you!" a female voice called out from behind him. And he paused mid-stride. He heard a giggling total of three voices but he swore he could hear four pairs of foot steps. "Hello!" The voice called out again – which would be why he could hear 4 pairs. The more vocal of the group was obviously the fourth.

Slowly, Duo turned around and came face to face with a group of, wait for it, four teenage girls. He groaned audibly at his luck. He noticed though that the one the others seem to be following bore a striking resemblance to Heero. He glanced at her, then at the house he'd just left, then at her again.

"Hilde?" He queried and grinned when she nodded. "Ah! I've just had a delightful conversation with your mother, and your brother. Though he wasn't as forthcoming with bits of information as your mom was." Hilde eyed him strangely before something clicked and her eyes widened.

"You're Duo!" She exclaimed. "You're the one Alice has been talking about." Duo made a sweeping gesture with his hands.

"That's me. But right now, I have to go. Later." He waved and continued to walk to the house his things were in. Once inside the house he stuck his head inside the door to the living room and told Mr Charlatan, or Mr C as Duo was now required to call him, that his wife was still at Kei's. Duo then went to his room. He quickly changed into a loose tank top, some skin-tight shorts that offered his legs more room when he was running and he slipped into some socks and his trainers.

His clothes complete, all he needed now was his water bottle full. He picked up the empty one he'd left on the bed earlier and left his room for the kitchen. After filling his bottle with cold water he headed for the front door.

"Hey Mr C, I'm going out for a run. I missed mine earlier." He said as he again stuck his head inside the door of the living room. The man smiled and nodded at him and after that, Duo was out the front door.

It was when he was doing his usual stretches and warm up exercises on the path outside the Charlatans garden that he realised two things. The first was that despite his earlier thoughts when on his bike, he didn't know nearly enough about the area to attempt his regular five miles. That meant he'd have to speak to Heero again very soon.

The second thing he realised was the group of four teenage girls were still stood outside the Yuy's garden. Duo could feel each pair of eyes on his back and possibly other places as he stretched. _Great_, he thought. _Nothing like misleading the neighbour on your first day. _

When his stretches were complete he turned to face his audience. He was shocked, though not enough to let it show on his face, to find Heero stood at the gate of his garden with his blue eyes firmly locked on the place where Duo knew he backside was. _Damn, why do I always get the complicated issues?_ He mentally pouted and approached the group.

"Hey Heero, a little help if you would be so terribly generous." Heero recovered from his staring quickly and raised an eyebrow at Duo. "My usual running spots are down in Hartford territory. And unless I missed something, this aint Hartford. So can you help a new neighbour out and give me a decent five mile route?" One of the girls gasped.

"Hartford?" she near squealed. "Isn't that the rough neighbourhood? I heard from Joe that no one dares go down that way. They said there's this kid at the Josephs Orphanage; he's supposed to be a real freak." It was almost bordering on amusing. It would have been, if it hadn't halted at insulting.

"Who is this Joe?" Duo asked, genuinely curious.

"He's the toughest guy at school." The girl said, making Duo, Heero 'and' Hilde snort, though only Duo's was heard by the girls.

"Yeh, and I'm the Queen of fucking England." He muttered then grinned at the girl. "You want to know something cool about the freak at the Orphanage?" Dumbly, the girl nodded and so too did her friends. Hilde thought it best to keep her mouth shut and her head still as she leaned back against the fence by her brother. Duo sauntered closer to the girl, only stopping when he was a mere 8-9 inch away. "It's me." He said and watched with amusement as she and her two friends paled. They girls stepped away from Duo slowly. "What? Gone off me now? Shame really. Though if you really think I'm a freak then I guess you're not worth my time anyway." With that, he turned abruptly to Heero and Hilde, completely ignoring the girls. "So, route?"

* * *

**Written by Diluted Industry.******


	4. Rumors, Info and Intel

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction.  
  
Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it.  
  
Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**Four: Rumors, Info and Intel.**

_"Yeh, and I'm the Queen of fucking __England__." He muttered then grinned at the girl. "You want to know something cool about the freak at the Orphanage?" Dumbly, the girl nodded and so too did her friends. Hilde thought it best to keep her mouth shut and her head still as she leaned back against the fence by her brother. Duo sauntered closer to the girl, only stopping when he was a mere 8-9 inch away. "It's me." He said and watched with amusement as she and her two friends paled. They girls stepped away from Duo slowly. "What? Gone off me now? Shame really. Though if you really think I'm a freak then I guess you're not worth my time anyway." With that, he turned abruptly to Heero and Hilde, completely ignoring the girls. "So, route?" _

**x-x-x-x-x******

Duo halted at the fence surrounding the Charlatan's garden and grasped it with both hands, nearly doubling over as he gasped for breath. A few seconds of panting later, he stood up and emptied the remainder of his water over his head.

"Have a good run?" The voice of Heero Yuy asked from directly behind him causing Duo to start slightly. He turned around to face his new neighbour and grinned.

"Aye, it served its purpose." He shook his head vigorously, effectively showering Heero with the water he'd just emptied. He was rewarded with a scowl. "How far do you run every morning?" Duo asked as he started his series of warm-down stretches.

"I've been working my way up on the distance scale of things. I've not been running for a long time so I'm at 3 miles each morning for now." Through his stretching, Duo nodded his head thoughtfully.

"I'm about ready to move up to 6 but I've not given it much thought. It keeps me fit so I'm not bothered with the distance." He turned around and lifted his right leg up so it rested on top of the fence. He then proceeded to reach forward and grasp his foot. He felt Heero come up behind him and rest a hand on the small of his back. "Cheers mate." He said, thanking the other for keeping him steady as he stretched.

"Are you really the guy from the Orphanage?" Heero suddenly asked and Duo paused for a moment before continuing with his task.

"The 'freak'?" He spat the word out. "You wouldn't believe how many people come around there looking for trouble just because it's an Orphanage ran by a woman in her 50's. So I took it upon my self to 'stand guard', so to speak. I can't help it if all they see is my face in shadow as I'm sat on my bike. They should know better. The neighbourhood's rough, I admit that much. But the locals are polite and friendly to the Orphanage and Sister Helena. It's the ones from out of the area that cause the most problems." Despite the fact that he knew Duo couldn't see him, Heero nodded his head.

"I figured they were all talk. I don't even think they dare go down Hartford territory for longer than half an hour." Duo snorted at this and switched legs so he was stretching the other one using the fence as a support.

"They don't know shit about Hartford territory. I love it. The streets are brilliant at night. I've had gangs of up to 20 make way for me and the bike." He spared a longing glance at his pride and joy. "They started calling me Shinigami a few months back because it's the name on the bike. Can't say I'm that bothered though." Heero stiffened.

"You're Shinigami?" The youth of Asian origin asked, sparks of curiosity, intrigue and the slightest glint of fear lined his tone. Duo let his elevated leg fall to the ground and turned to face his companion. He quirked an eyebrow and let a lazy grin worm its way across his face.

"I am." He said. Heero shook his head a little to rid himself of the cobwebs he knew had to have formed there.

"You're 'the' Shinigami?" Duo nodded. "Fuck. People at school just thought you were some myth the guys in Hartford made up to keep outsiders off their quote; 'turf'; unquote." He couldn't help it… the braided youth threw his head back and laughed. Heero let a frown mar his brow momentarily before reluctantly letting a smile curve onto his lips.

"Oh man." Duo gasped through his laughter. "You just made my day." He grinned at the other teen and asked, "How do you get to school in a morning?"

"I walk." Heero answered. "Hilde gets picked up here and goes with her friends and Morgan-Roe in a car and I'm left to walk. Why?"

"I've got a spare helmet under the seat, you fancy riding behind Shinigami into the school gates tomorrow?" With only a second's thought to the decision, Heero nodded.

"Hai, thank you." Duo waved the thanks off and grinned widely.

"Alright then, see you 6:30 tomorrow morning." The pair parted ways and entered their own houses.

"What was that about?" Hilde asked Heero as her brother closed the front door behind him. She was stood in the middle of the hall way with her arms folded over her chest and an eyebrow raised in question.

"Ever heard of Shinigami?" Hilde's interest was instantly piqued and she gestured for him to continue. But her brother didn't say anything else. He just grinned, and grinned widely. Slowly but surely, realisation dawned upon Hilde and her eyes widened to an almost impossible width.

"You're kidding me?" She said with the disbelief in her tone clearly evident. Heero shook his head. "You're not. Woah… this is… surreal." Her brother kept grinning, causing her to narrow her eyes a little. No one ever made Heero grin like that. "What happened?" She asked him, accusation lining her tone.

"Nothing Hil'. I just won't be walking to school tomorrow." He laughed as she gaped.

**x-x-x-x-x******

"What were you talking to Heero about earlier?" Mrs C asked as her, Mr C, Morgan-Roe and Duo were sitting down to their dinner. The day had pretty much gone quickly after his run and for that, Duo was thankful. After his talk with Heero he'd had a shower and finished unpacking his things. He'd then spent a couple of hours working on a fictional story he'd started on paper over a year ago so was now typing it all up.

He looked up from his food and blinked at the woman. He then gave a mental shrug, figuring she must have seen from the window or something similar.

"We talked about the rumours that had been flying around his school about Hartford territory. I offered him a ride in the morning seeing as I really don't know the way. We agreed to meet outside at 6:30 and go on a run together. Then we'll come home, get changed and head off to school." He stuck his fork in a carrot and bit it. Mr and Mrs C both looked thoughtful while Morgan-Roe had a curious look on her face.

"What rumours?" She asked as she held a forkful of roast potatoes to her mouth.

"Oh that there's this freak who lives at the Josephs Orphanage. Then there's the one about Shinigami. That one made me laugh." He grinned at her, chuckling at the memory.

"I've heard that Shinigami doesn't even exist." She said. "He's supposed to be a myth, something made up by gangs in Hartford. The area's rough, I'm surprised the rumour lasted as long as it has." Duo raised an eyebrow at her before shaking his head, a smile still on his face.

"Shinigami isn't a myth." He smirked at her slack-jawed expression. "Did you not see the name of my bike when the kids caught you eyeballing it earlier?" She shook her head in a negative gesture and he laughed. "The area isn't as rough as its rep makes out. Sure there are gangs, but they're really just a group of guys hanging out on the streets because it's better than staying at home watching prime-time TV. I guess Shinigami reared its head when I started taking nightly rides around the place. Gangs parted for me and I suppose some caught the name on the side."

"So you're Shinigami?" Morgan asked bluntly.

"Aye." Duo answered dutifully. A few tense moments later, the teenage girl spoke again.

"This is brilliant!" She exclaimed with a laugh. "Gods it's great! Did you know that even the roughest bullies at school are scared of you? And you're living here. Man its fantastic!"

Mr and Mrs C shook their heads; fond, indulgent chuckles escaped their lips.

**x-x-x-x-x**

"You're late." Duo grinned at the tired looking Heero Yuy as the latter walked down the path and out of the Yuy's garden. Heero glared at him and the braided youth laughed. "Someone's sure got a stuck up his backside this morning." Another glare.

"I forgot to set my alarm last night." The male half of the Yuy twins grumbled as he started stretching. Duo rested a supporting hand on the small of Heero's back much like the other teen had done for him the day previous and a few minutes later, they were running down the street –only Duo carried a water bottle.

"Heero, you're a great guy and all, but you're not using my water when the exertion catches up with you." The braided teen told his companion and they ran around the first corner of the route. Heero actually smirked at the other teen.

"I'll be fine, don't worry your head." The pair continued their run in silence, turning corners here and there until they hit a street that seemed miles long but in reality, it was only about a mile and a half.

There weren't fences on the gardens of the houses on this street so both Duo and Heero got unrestricted views of the pristine lawns the 'posh folk' of "Darlington and Joans" lived their ridiculously boring lives. Duo almost sneered at one particular garden that had a tacky water fountain smack damn in the centre of the stupidly green lawn, but managed to hold himself back.

As the pair ran on, Duo noticed with an appreciative eye, a boy doing some form of Martial Arts on his front lawn. The boy looked to be both Duo and Heero's age and the braided teen vaguely wondered if he went to the same school Duo himself was starting in a few short hours. They neared the garden and the boy stopped his movements. He reached down to retrieve one of two water bottles sat on the grass. He seemed to wait for us to draw closer to his garden before grinning and launching the bottle towards, to Duo's utter shock, Heero's outstretched hand.

Duo blinked, his feet never missing a step, and he started to laugh. Heero threw him a smug grin and they continued their run.

The long haired teen decided that he'd go home with Heero and pick up the distance after school. He'd done it before and it never harmed him. So 20 minutes later, the pair halted in front of the Charlatan's fence. Duo did the same thing with the water as he did yesterday and stretched to warm-down his muscles.

"Who was that guy?" Duo asked Heero as the latter rested a hand on the small of his back for the second time in as many days.

"His name's Chang Wufei. He, myself and two others have been friends since we were in reception. I meet them all at school, they know waiting for me is pointless as my run sometimes leaves me later than I'd like." His stretching neighbour grinned back over his shoulder.

"No more though, ne?" Heero raised an eyebrow. "I mean, if I have the spare helmet, what's the point of you walking when it's just as easy to get a ride with me?" The male Yuy twin blinked.

"You don't know me." He said simply, causing Duo to roll his eyes heaven-wards.

"Mr and Mrs C do though! And Morgan-Roe too I guess. And they seem to like you so I'm thinking I've got a week here till I have to make the choice on whether I want to stay or not, until then I can find aspects that make me want to stay, like having decent friends for the first time in a long time." Towards the end of his speech, Duo's voice dropped in volume and had Heero nearly straining to catch the words.

"Wufei will already admire you for choosing to run with me, even if I was actually slowing you down." Duo straightened up and allowed the other teen to take his place at the fence.

"You weren't slowing me down, I just run a longer distance. I'll make it up later on and tomorrow I'll lap the street your friend was on twice to make up for it. That place is an easy mile and a half." A weird thought suddenly occurred to Duo. "Seeing as we are in the time we're in, and people often jump at the opportunity to 'categorise' people when and where they feel like it, I'm wondering what you and your friends have been labelled as." He grinned at Heero as the Yuy twin glanced back over his shoulder.

"We have people often hanging all over us for some reason, so I'm assuming people would think we're… I guess you can call it 'popular', but we also work hard at school." He then shrugged his shoulders as best he could in the position he was in. "Call it what you want." He switched legs.

"How about… pop-geeks?" He laughed at the sour look Heero shot him. "Ok ok… not that. You're the type of guys that can't help being drop dead gorgeous, so continue being as studious as ever anyway." An affirmative nod. "Alright then. I guess some might take one look at me and scream in terror, pointing widely at me before shrieking at the top of their lungs, 'Goth'!" He laughed at his own words, noting that Heero was smirking slightly too. "But I don't know. I get good grades, I'm good at sports, my head isn't 'too' big, girls seem attracted to my hair for some unfathomable reason, I ride Shinigami, I listen to rock music. I'm a mixture of every fucking category there is."

"But for your interest in sports, you'll be labelled a jock." Duo sent a dirty look at the now upright and grinning Heero Yuy.

"Watch it Yuy." The braided teen mock-warned. "I'll have you know, I am no Jock. Nor will I ever tolerate being called one." He growled at the other youth before suddenly breaking out into a large grin. He finished up the last of his stretches and turned to the gate of the Charlatan's garden. "When do we have to be there?"

"8:30. It usually takes me ten to fifteen minutes to walk there but on the bike I think it'll take no more than five." Duo nodded thoughtfully.

"Ok. When do Joe and his other 'rough bullies' usually get there? And do they use a car?"

"They get there at 20 past 8 and yes, they all arrive in Joe's car. Why, what are you planning?" but Duo just grinned.

"Meet me out here at quarter past." With that said, he bolted up and into the Charlatan's house, leaving Heero shaking his head.

* * *

**Written by Diluted Industry.**


	5. Heero, Meet Shinigami

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction.  
  
Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it.  
  
Notes-the second: This chapter is a little shorter than previous chapters though to make up for the shortness, I will be updating again in the morrow. Enjoy what there is.  
  
Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**Five: Heero, Meet Shinigami.**

_"When do we have to be there?"_

_"8:30. It usually takes me ten to fifteen minutes to walk there but on the bike I think it'll take no more than five." Duo nodded thoughtfully._

_"Ok. When do Joe and his other 'rough bullies' usually get there? And do they use a car?"_

_"They get there at __20 past 8__ and yes, they all arrive in Joe's car. Why, what are you planning?" but Duo just grinned._

_"Meet me out here at quarter past." With that said, he bolted up and into the Charlatan's house, leaving Heero shaking his head._

**x-x-x-x-x******

Duo removed the key from the pocket in his shorts and unlocked the front door. As soon as he stepped over the threshold he saw a very tired Mrs C looking as though she had just fallen out of bed, walking down the stairs. She paused at the foot and stared at him. She blinked once, then again, and again.

"G'morning Mrs C." he grinned at her cheerfully. She groaned and shook her head.

"What are you doing outside at this time in a morning Duo?" She asked as she descended the last step and eyed the clock on the wall that told the time '7:30'.

"Oh? I was up at a quarter past 6. I met Heero outside at half past, we went for a run and now I'm back." She just blinked and he laughed. "Go make yourself a coffee Mrs C, you look like you need a wake up call." She smiled blearily at him. "It's alright if I take a shower isn't it? I mean, I don't want to use up all the hot water."

"It's fine Duo. Go have a shower, but don't take too long. James and Morgan will be up soon." The teen nodded and bolted upstairs.

Twenty minutes after Duo had left to take a shower, he walked into the kitchen with a brush in his hand, a band around his wrist and the helmet he'd brought in yesterday. He set the helmet on the table and took a seat, beginning then to brush out his ridiculously long hair. He hadn't washed it in the shower because he didn't feel like going outside with wet hair. Cold's and Duo were a match made in hell. So they steered clear of one another at every opportunity.

"Do you want me to brush it out for you Duo?" Mrs C suddenly asked as she set down a mug of tea in front of him. He started slightly, not minding the fact that she wanted to help him, simply minding the fact that she wanted to touch his hair. So he was protective of it, with hair like that, who wouldn't be?

"Um…" He said intelligently and she chuckled, commandeering the brush from his hand.

"It'll be fine, I promise. I'll try not to pull to hard or break any of the hairs. It's just been too long since I've been able to brush out long hair." She smiled to the back of his head. "I'll braid it for you after." She added and gathered up the mass of chestnut waves. Then taking a firm hold on the brush, the started from the bottom (having to kneel on the floor to get to it comfortably) and worked her way up slowly.

Duo was in heaven. He hadn't had his hair brushed like this for years. Sister Helena used to do it for him but in that past few years she'd become increasingly busy with the Orphanage and other happenings and she just hadn't found the time.

Morgan-Roe stepped into the kitchen just as Mrs C was tying Duo's hair off at the end of the braid. "Aww," She moaned dramatically. "Can I do that tomorrow?" Duo grinned and winked at her.

"If you really feel the need to Roe. But I have to warn you, there's a lot of it there." The girl nodded her head, choosing not to comment on the name he used when referring to her and instead, buried herself in the take of devouring her breakfast. Duo watched her for a moment before shaking his head, smiling fondly. "Seriously, I love sweet things as much as the next person, but for breakfast? You have issues girl." He grinned at the scowl working its way over her face and laughed at the obscene finger gesture that followed. Luckily for the girl, Mrs C was looking away at that moment.

"What are your plans for tonight then Duo?" Mrs C asked as she joined the pair at the table. In her hands sat a fresh cup of a hot beverage that could be either coffee or tea.

"Well after school I'll come home, get changed and then run the extra three miles I missed this morning. Then I'll come home, shower and get ready for work." At the last statement Mrs C raised an eyebrow.

"You have a job?" She asked. "Sister Helena never mentioned it."

"Aye. She probably wouldn't feel it her place to tell you, lord knows why. I work at a café on the outskirts of Hartford. Four to five hours every night on a weeknight. I asked my boss for more but he refused, saying because of school work, he wasn't happy about giving me as much as he is. On a Saturday I work from 8am till half 1 in the afternoon. Then I come home, and go back at 4 to work an extra four hours." He shrugged at the odd looks he was getting from the two women present. "Its good money and I like it. Howard's great; he even helps me with the odd school assignment." Mrs C smiled brightly at him.

"That's great Duo. I'm glad you have a boss that understands the importance of School work." Duo grinned.

"Hey Roe, you know those rough bully guys at your school? Um… I think the leader is a guy called Joe?" Morgan nodded for him to continue. "Do you know where they park their car in the morning when they arrive at school?" His near-as-dammit-adoptive sister thought about the question for a moment before providing Duo with an answer.

"They like to show off. They park as close as they possibly can to the school entrance. The spaces surrounding the one they use are always empty because whenever a car pulls up there, the idiot's growl and tell them to, in a rather obscene manner of speaking, get lost."

"Great, thanks." Morgan eyed him suspiciously but the braided teen's attention was drawn away when Mr C entered the kitchen.

"Morning all." The man said brightly.

**x-x-x-x-x******

"Later Mrs C! Mr C!" Duo called out as he closed the front door of the Charlatan's house. He chuckled at the pair's worry over him giving Heero a ride to school. He'd spent the past five minutes explaining to them that he had a licence to carry a passenger and a further minute to stress that he'd be extra careful.

He stepped up to his bike and unlocked the under-seat compartment. He removed the helmet (plain black like his own) that he planned on giving to Heero to wear and set it down on the ground for a moment. He then went on to stuff his bag inside, beaming triumphantly when it fit snugly. He closed up the compartment and locked it up again. He then kneeled down and started to unlock the bike lock he'd put in place the previous day.

When that task was complete he curled the lock up expertly and tucked it away in the small box compartment at the very back of the bike before picking up both helmets and standing up.

"So this is Shinigami." The male voice Duo had come to recognise at Heero Yuy's spoke from her position at the Charlatan's gate. The owner of the aforementioned Shinigami looked around and saw the male half of the Yuy twin's stood cleaning against the fence. He grinned at the other teen as he started to move the bike down the drive way and through the fence-gate Heero had just opened for him.

"Aye, this is my baby." He handed Heero one of the helmets and straddled the bike. He then slipped his own over his head and clipped it into place. His new next door neighbour eyed the bike with a mixed air of awe and wariness. It was safe to say, at least in Duo's mind, that Heero had never been on the back of a motor bike before. "Jump on then." His tone told the other teen that Duo was in fact, grinning like an idiot. "She won't bite."

After taking a deep breath and clipping his helmet into place, the male half of the Yuy twin's seated himself behind the braided youth, clasping his arms tightly around the other's waist. He felt Dup shaking a little against his chest and frowned. He then realised that the teen in front of him was laughing.

"Don't laugh at me." He growled.

"I'm not laughing at you Heero. Just try not to be so tense." He inserted the key and turned once before kicking the kick-starter hard and shouting with unabashed joy as the engine roared to life. "This, Heero Yuy, is a work of art." He patted the leg of the boy behind him and took off in the direction his new school was. He was thanking himself though, for his initial joy when he first got the bike. He'd ridden almost everywhere within a 50 mile radius of the Orphanage, passing his new school as he did so. A helpful thing indeed.

As they rose, Duo felt Heero loosen up and grinned. "Enjoying yourself back there?" He shouted back so he was heard about the roaring purr of the engine.

"This is fantastic!" Heero replied loudly and Duo let out an overjoyed howl.

"This is freedom!"

Not 4 minutes after they had set off from outside the Charlatan's house, Duo eased Shinigami into the school student car park. He slowed almost to a halt at the entrance, looking around obviously in search of something and when he found his target, he smirked.

"Showtime buddy."

* * *

**Written by Diluted Industry.******


	6. Entertainment and Old Friends

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction.  
  
Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it.  
  
Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**Six: Entertainment and Old Friends.**

_"This is freedom!"_

_Not 4 minutes after they had set off from outside the Charlatan's house, Duo eased Shinigami into the school student car park. He slowed almost to a halt at the entrance, looking around obviously in search of something and when he found his target, he smirked._

_"Showtime buddy."_

**x-x-x-x-x******

After looking around himself, Heero had a fair idea of what Duo had planned so when his braided companion took off again, he made sure his hold was tight around the other's waist. And the effort wasn't uncalled for as Duo drove the bike further and further towards the school at a speed that wasn't breaking any car park law rules, but he was certainly stretching them.

Heero couldn't help but inwardly grin at the parking spot that Duo had chosen. The braided youth cut the engine and kicked down the stand.

He felt Heero swing his left leg over the bike so he was stood firmly with two feet on the ground. The teen had to grasp a hold of Duo's shoulder momentarily as his legs seemed to feel weird. He reached up to unclip the straps of his helmet before effortlessly removing it. He shook his head and grinned at the boy still seated on the bike.

"Hey Yuy!" A rough voice called out from behind the twin. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The voice sneered but Heero didn't turn around. Instead, he stepped away from the bike and proceeded to lean against one of the crash barrier bars that lined the car park in an effort by the school to keep vehicles off the grounds.

There were several sharp intakes of breaths as Heero moved and he couldn't help but let his grin fall into a smirk as he watched the group of 7 jocks stare wide-eyed and jaw-slacked at the name embossed with chrome on the bike he'd just removed himself from.

Duo didn't even bother hiding his amusement at the near petrified expressions flying over the jock's faces though he did have his helmet on, so the moment was lost. He reached up and unclipped the straps that held his helmet in place.

"Shit." One of the Jock's said.

"It can't be." Another spoke up.

"I though you said it was a myth Joe." A third voiced his thoughts.

"I… I…" But Joe didn't have anything to say. His face was contorted in fear and his eyes widened more so than they already were when the bike's rider made a move to remove his helmet.

"You guy's look like you've seen a ghost." A new, amused voice sounded out, effectively catching everyone's attention and Duo turned around to see his proverbial 'sister' walk towards him while her companion, Hilde Yuy, chose to remain close to her own brother.

"Do you know who that fucking is?" One of the Jocks asked shakily, watching Morgan-Roe Charlatan calmly step up to the bike's rider.

"Of course I know who it is, Fuckmook." She smirked at them.

"Aww Roe, you're no fun." The rider sounded as though he was pouting behind his helmet.

"It's fucking Sh-Shinigami!" One of the Jock's finally cried in horror. Morgan sent 'Joe' a withering look.

"Are you finished playing around yet?" She drawled, aiming her question at the rider as she lifted the helmet-visor so she could see amused amethyst eyes.

"You're just jealous I gave Heero a ride and not you." Morgan rolled her eyes. "Come on. You can't deny it. I saw you eyeing my baby like she was a piece of rump steak." He emphasised each word with a tap of his foot against the ground.

"Hey Charlatan! Are you fucking deaf! That's fucking Sh-Shinigami!" Joe yelled.

"You can't even say the name without tripping over it. Go back to preschool and grow some balls." The girl said, sounding very much like she was bored.

"Why you little-" Joe's snarling insult was cut short as his attempt at intimidating Morgan by towering over her was halted when the bully came face to helmet-less face with 'Shinigami'. The Jock's eyes widened not for the first time that morning and he stumbled back, stopping only when he felt the hard surface of his car behind him.

"You really want to finish that sentence?" Duo cocked his head to the side. His form, though not the most bulky ever to be seen, wasn't small either. His skin-tight black jeans showed whoever thought to look just what muscles he had in his legs and should he remove his leather Jacket, those who chose to keep looking would see undeniable strength and power in his arms. Of course, his abs were not to be discounted. Duo was by no means, defenceless and he was certainly not to be underestimated.

But these Jocks were already afraid of him. So he wasn't complaining.

"Fuck off before I show you what Shinigami truly means." His eyes narrowed and Joe, along with his little gang, fled the scene faster (Duo didn't doubt) than they'd ever run before.

"Wow." A breathless groan sounded behind him, reminding him he wasn't alone. He turned around and laughed at the mock flustered look on both his 'sisters' and Hilde's face. Both girls fanned their faces with their hands and panted heavily. Heero just rolled his eyes at them.

"Alright! Alright! Cut it out!" The braided teen grinned and moved back to his bike. He removed both his bag (putting Heero's helmet in its place) and the bike lock, locked up the under-seat compartment again and set the bike lock (looping it between the spokes on both wheels as well as the vertical part of the bar of the crash barrier).

"How strong is that lock?" Heero asked Duo as the other picked up his bag from the ground and the group started walking towards the school.

"Impenetrable." Duo stated with a confident grin. "I designed it myself. You can't pick the locks, break the combinations or cut through the metal." Heero looked sceptical and Duo laughed. "You're welcome to try but I wouldn't if I were you. It has an anti-thief protection thingy-ma-jig on it. That's the technical term." He grinned. "It gives minor electric shocks to those stupid enough not to know how to handle it; i.e. me, as I am the only one able to handle it. It's also got one hell of an alarm. You can hear it up to three quarters of a mile away." He explained. "The under-seat compartment isn't as secure as I'd want it to be but I'm working on that."

The group of four reached the steps that led up to the main doors of the school and were forced to draw to a halt.

Three boys, the same age as the twins, Duo and Morgan stood at the top of the steps. Two were stood on the very top step while the third stood two steps below. Each had his arms folded over his chest and expectant expressions on their faces.

Duo looked curiously at them all. He recognised one of them from earlier that morning. Wufei, Heero had called him. The next one was blonde and had a look that screamed 'innocent' but obviously, he was nothing of the sort. And the third, to Duo, seemed familiar. He took in the teen's appearance with a raised eyebrow.

Large bang of auburn hair falling over one eye, the one visible eye was brilliant emerald green, tanned skin, firm physique.

The braided youth's eyes widened and a wide grin spread over his face.

"Trowa Barton!" He exclaimed. He quickly took the steps two at a time (which gave him an easy three step distance) and pulled 'Trowa' into a tight embrace. And embrace that was returned equally as tight. A few seconds of hugging was enough for the pair and they separated but didn't move too far away from each other. "God man! How long has it been?"

Trowa smiled indulgently. "Almost 5 years Duo. I can't believe we still remember each other." Duo laughed, patting his new, or seemingly old, companion on the shoulder.

"I know! How's life? Is your home alright? Are they treating you good?" The green-eyed teen raised his hands in mock-defence.

"Woah! Calm down there, mate. Life is great, my home couldn't be better and yes, they are treating me fine. Anyway, never mind that! How are you? How's Sister Helena? What are you doing here anyway? You got a new home?" Duo grinned and opened his mouth to answer. He would have done as well if not for the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Oops. Sorry." He smiled sheepishly at Morgan, knowing she was the one to clear her throat. He then focused on Wufei and the blonde. The blonde, Duo thought, looked a little miffed at the closeness of himself and Trowa. _Oh, this is too good._ He thought with a mental smirk. "Hi." He offered his hand first to Wufei and then to the blonde. "I'm Duo Maxwell. As you have probably guessed, I'm new here."

Wufei eyed the hand a moment before clasping it firmly. He smiled a small smile and bowed his head a little. "Chang Wufei."

"Quatre Winner" The blonde introduced himself, getting over his annoyance from earlier and offering a bright welcoming smile.

"I just moved in with dear Roe over here." He slung an arm around the approaching Morgan's shoulders. "Met Heero and Hilde yesterday as well as a few other girls. But they seemed to be scared of me. I didn't do anything!" A mock-hurtful look flickered over his face but the moment was lost when Heero snorted.

"You told them you were the 'freak' at the Orphanage in Hartford Territory. Of course they were scared." Duo pouted.

"Now you are definitely no fun Heero Yuy." Hilde and Morgan giggled and Quatre laughed a little while Trowa and Wufei shared a smile.

"Hn, baka." Was all that Heero said as a reply.

"I think I'll stay oblivious to the meaning of that word for now." Duo grinned. "I need to get to the office of he or she who is in charge! Someone, lead me as I have no knowledge of this place!" Trowa shook his head, still smiling.

"You'll probably be in our form class. Come on, I'll take you to the guy in charge." The auburn haired teen grasped Duo's elbow and turned the next corner the group came across. "I'll see you guys in form!" He called back over his shoulder.

"Don't lose him Tro! Mom would kill me!" Morgan called back with a laugh. Trowa waved an affirmative and fell in step with his charge.

"So how have you been Duo? It's been too long since we last spoke." The taller of the pair asked the other.

"I've been good. Sister Helena still runs the Orphanage. I moved into the Charlatan's yesterday morning and out of all the homes I've ever been to, I have a good feeling about this one." He grinned at his friend. "So… spill it bang-boy." He could only laugh at the sour look Trowa sent him.

"I rather hoped you'd forgotten that name." the teen said before sighing. "Spill what, anyway?" Duo snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Come on Trowa! I may be loud mouthed and a bit brash, but I'm not stupid. I saw the way Blondie was eyeing me when we hugged." He sent a sly look his friend's way and his grin transformed into a full blown smirk when he saw the blush coating the other's cheeks. "I knew it! Trowa Barton you dog you." He punched the other teen in the arm lightly and laughed. "Helena will be thrilled! How long?"

Trowa sighed, accepting defeat when he knew Duo wouldn't drop the subject. "Almost a year." He said, his voice wistful.

"You're still a sap, you know that?" Mournfully, Trowa nodded and the pair laughed as they entered the school reception.

* * *

**Written by Diluted Industry.******


	7. Induction and Intervention

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction.  
  
Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it.  
  
Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**Seven: Induction and Intervention.******

_Trowa sighed, accepting defeat when he knew Duo wouldn't drop the subject. "Almost a year." He said, his voice wistful. _

_"You're still a sap, you know that?" Mournfully, Trowa nodded and the pair laughed as they entered the school reception._

**x-x-x-x-x******

"Good Morning Mrs Fender." The cheerful blonde receptionist smiled brightly at both teenagers.

"Good Morning Mr Barton. Who is your friend? Is he new?" Duo raised an eyebrow at his friend before shrugging and turning a flirtatious grin to Mrs Fender.

"Good Morning my lady! You certainly are looking radiant this day. How 'do' you do it?" The woman blushed and smiled.

"It is a hard job, but someone has to." She replied and Duo laughed.

"Of course!" He bowed his head in mock-respect. "My name's Duo Maxwell. Today's my first day, thought I might come here and collect various items of mandatory info." Without losing her smile, Mrs Fender nodded and picked up the phone on her desk.

"Mr Kushrenada, I have Duo Maxwell here. Yes, no, Trowa Barton is with him. Very well, I'll send them through." She hung up and looked back at the two teens. "Mr Kushrenada asked for you both to go through to his office."

"Why me?" Trowa asked her.

"I don't know. I assume he will ask you to show your friend around. Ok, you can go through now." The pair nodded and walked down the corridor to the left of Mrs Fender's office area. They strolled in silence to the end of the row of office doors, stopping at the one with the name plate pinned at eye-level saying 'Mr Trieze Kushrenada. Trowa knocked quietly and waited for the customary 'enter' before opening the door.

Duo stepped over the threshold and after sparing the man in the seat behind the desk a glance, looked around the walls. He noted with a small smile that the Head was a family man. He had a wife and two children – a boy and a girl. There were a number of certificates also up on the wall but one particular image caught the braided teen's attention. His eyes narrowed and he strode towards the wall behind the Head's desk. Before he could get a close look however, the voice of the seated man halted him.

"Would you take a seat and we can get the formalities out of the way." Mr Kushrenada said with an amused smile.

**x-x-x-x-x******

"It looks like you're in our class, which isn't so bad." Trowa commented as he and Duo stepped out of the reception area. They started walking down a corridor they'd used to get to the main offices some time before. "You've got every class with at least two of us. You're with me all day today and we're with Quatre and Heero period one and three. We're with Wufei period two and four and we're all together period 5. Period 6 is our free but I told Quatre and the guys I'd wait till they finish."

Duo nodded. "Where's this locker Mr K promised me?" He grinned at his friend and the other smiled, shaking his head fondly.

"Right between mine and Hilde's. At least they thought to put us all together this year. Last year wasn't the most desirable of terms we've ever had." They came to a stop in front of a row of lockers and Trowa pointed one out. "Yours." He pointed to another. "Mine." And then to several others. "Hilde's, Wufei's, Quatre's, Heero's and Morgan's."

Duo sidled up to the lockers and keyed in his combination code. After getting it open he set his helmet inside and closed the door. He then turned to Trowa who was just at the point of closing his locker up too. "What's the form teach called?" He asked the taller teen as they set off towards their classroom.

"Weren't you listening to a word Mr Kushrenada said?" The green-eyed youth asked in amused exasperation.

"Of course I was! I just missed that bit. And the bit about homework and anything that wasn't my timetable." Trowa rolled his eyes and gestured toward a door that had been left half open.

"Her name's Lady Noin." He knocked on the door lightly and entered.

"Mr Barton! Welcome back. Please, take your seat and we can introduce your new friend." Lady Noin was tall in Duo's opinion. Almost as tall as he was but not quite. She was still tall though. She had purple-black hair that had been cut short. Her fringe almost rivalled Trowa's in how it sat over her face but it wasn't as prominent. The shape of her face wasn't lost and both her eyes were still visible without you having to crane your neck to look.

She smiled warmly at Duo, urging him to approach her and face the class as a whole. He could feel every eye in the room burning a figurative hole in him as he stepped forward. He bowed his head in respect to Lady Noin and shot her his brightest smile.

"Why don't you tell everyone who you are and add on a little about yourself?" She said to him and he nodded.

"Well my name's Duo Maxwell. I just moved into the area. I'm now living with the dear Roe Charlatan and so far, I've been reunited with an old friend, scared a number of jocks into running away with their tails between their legs… all before first period." He grinned at the laughs he drew from the class, noting with amusement that the aforementioned Jocks were seated at the back of the class. "I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie. That's me in a nutshell."

"You missed something out!" One of the Jocks shouted out angrily causing all but a few of the class' inhabitants to look from Duo to the Jock and back again, a question burning in each of their eyes.

"Oh really?" Duo drawled, levelling an even gaze at the teen who spoke up. "So please, enlighten us all to what exactly, I missed out. Because as you can see, we are all dying to know." His stare never wavered but the Jock turned away almost instantly. "Come on."

"You're Sh-Sh-Shinig-gami!" the teen cried pointing wildly at Duo who simply raised an eyebrow. The class, save Heero, Morgan, Hilde, Trowa, Wufei and Quatre all looked at him with wide, fearful eyes. Trowa raised an inquisitive eyebrow, barely managing to keep the amusement from his face while Wufei didn't bother to try hiding his mirth. Quatre was hiding behind his hand in an effort to keep a laugh inside.

"Oh I thought I told you to grow some balls?" Morgan droned sounding very bored indeed. Beside her Heero snorted and Hilde decided she couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed with Quatre following soon after. Wufei and Trowa both chuckled while Heero settled for a smile after his ice-breaking snort of laughter.

"Why the hell are you lot laughing?" A girl with dark blonde hair hissed at the laughing group. "Do you know who Sh-Shinigami is?!" Her eyes widened as Heero turned to grace her with a sparing glance before speaking in a flat tone.

"Shinigami is a bike." The comment earned an annoyed flushed look from the girl he'd spoken to and more laughs from his friends.

"Enough!" Lady Noin called out over the whispers and the giggling still emanating from Hilde and Morgan. "Mr Maxwell, please, take the seat beside Mr Chang." After giving the teacher a mock-salute, Duo proceeded to walk down the centre isles, smiling almost manically at some cheerleaders in the front row as he passed. He took his seat and made himself comfortable.

"Lead on teach!" He grinned at the smiling teacher.

**x-x-x-x-x******

"So how do you like the school so far?" Quatre asked Duo as them along with the rest of their group sat down on the school lawns underneath a large oak tree. The blonde was nestled comfortably in between Trowa's legs while the green eyed teen leaned back against the trunk of the tree. Duo himself was seated beside Trowa with his legs stretched out in front of him (oddly being used as a pillow by Morgan), crossing at the ankle.

"To be honest with you, Q-man, it holds a certain amusement to it. I practically ran my old school. Well, as far as students were concerned anyway. The Jock's couldn't beat anything I did, cheerleaders swarmed around me. And when I told them I played the other side of the fence, they swarmed around me for completely different reasons." Morgan giggled form her position.

"You let them play with your hair." She stated with a smirk.

"They made me let them play with my hair." Duo corrected and got a number of snorts aimed his way. "What can I say, I crave attention." He gasped dramatically and clutched his heart, batting his eyelashes wildly. Morgan swatted his thigh and he broke off his drama-fix with a laugh. "Seriously though, this school I seem to be attracting the opposite kind of attention."

"Aww! It'll be fine big bro." Morgan cooed. Duo scowled and offered her his middle finger.

"Don't leave that out." Hilde warned with a grin from where she lay on her stomach with her legs bent back so they were swinging in the air. "She'll bite it." To prove the point, Morgan snapped her teeth together menacingly. Duo just snapped right back.

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Grow up." He chided not without affection.

"Aww Wu-man! You need to relax! Let your hair down." Duo paused then, an odd gleam setting into his eyes. Wufei's own eyes widened.

"Keep your mind on track Maxwell." He warned but the gleam was still bright. "Play with your own damn hair! Charlatan! Keep a leash on him." Morgan opened one of her closed eyes and glared at the Chinese teen before rolling said eye and swatting her pillow.

"Behave." She intoned. Duo just pouted. "Back to previous topics though. The school has some fuckers about true enough, but it's alright. You had Joe pissing himself this morning and for that I think most of the junior years will worship you." She paused a moment for thought. "After they stop pissing themselves too." She added brightly with a grin to match.

"It's over there." The group heard a voice not far from their location say.

"You sure?" Another voice asked as they came closer. Morgan let her eyes open to thin slits and saw four junior's walking seemingly towards them. But she knew better.

* * *

**Written by Diluted Industry.******


	8. Dinner and a Show

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction. 

Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it. 

Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**Dinner and a show.**

_"It's over there." The group heard a voice not far from their location say._

_"You sure?"__ Another voice asked as they came closer. Morgan let her eyes open to thin slits and saw four junior's walking seemingly towards them. But she knew better._

**x-x-x-x-x**

She caught Duo's eyes and jerked her head towards his bike. He grinned and nodded before silently rising to his feet and climbing up the tree he'd been leaning against with the grace and ease any and every acrobat, gymnast and flexibility-fanatics dreamed of having.

Heero noticed the junior's approach and was tempted to halt them but was warned off when Morgan held up her hand, four fingers prominent with her thumb tucked away. When she was sure they all saw the action she pointed towards the car-park a few feet from where they were all sitting. Understanding, the male half of the Yuy twins shifted into the position Duo had just vacated, allowing Morgan's head to rest on his legs.

Hilde watched everything with an amused eye.

Quatre and Trowa seemed content to sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Wufei bit into his sandwich and watched along with his friends.

"Joe kept saying it was a myth. Completely made up." A third voice spoke up. "He said the Hartford gangs were getting desperate these days. It isn't like anyone has the balls to go down there anyway." The voice snickered. "Even Joe refuses to go down anymore. I'm beginning to think everyone in this place talks out of their arse." The voice sounded indifferent, yet highly amused by the entirety of the situation.

The owner of the first voice that had spoken glared at the third. "You wouldn't go down there no more than any of us would." The glare intensified when the third person laughed.

"I go down their once a week; twice if I get the chance." He grinned at his seething soon to be ex-friend. "More opportunities would be appreciated by I'm not old enough yet. When I turn 16 I'll be down as often as I can." A certain black item of beauty came into his line of vision and his grin widened. "Oh look. There it is."

"Shada don't piss me off. What the fuck do you want down Hartford?" The unofficial 'leader' of the group of four seethed but paled dramatically when he too saw the item they had set out to look at.

"Didn't I tell you Pete?" The third voice of the party, Shada, said jovially as he stepped in front of 'Pete' and the other two junior's. "I used to live down there." Out of the corner of his eye he could see the group of seniors sitting at the base of the large oak tree. "Now… if I remember rightly…" He muttered to himself. His eyes travelled from the tree trunk, to the seniors, to the thing of beauty that was parked not two meters away from where he stood, and back to the tree.

"Shada what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Pete growled, not at all happy with the current turn of events.

Shada however, seemed not to hear him. Instead, he grinned a grin that sent shivers down the other junior's spines.

From where he sat, Trowa couldn't help but let his own grin slip to the surface.

The grinning junior spotted a low branch not far from the senior's positions and without hesitation, he took a spring-step, bent down low and sprang upwards, the power in his legs propelling him further than a simple jump would. Strong hands grasped the branch and Shada let his body swing forward, then upwards until he was almost at a handstand.

"Shit!" Pete gasped, staring dumbly at his former friend.

"Dainty touch with branded tooth, first in line for teasing, P by name he aint got much-" Shada sung sweetly, grinning at Pete from his handstand position. There was suddenly a blur of black and a pair of legs found themselves bent at the knee, anchoring their owner to the branch either side of Shada's hands.

"Hey Tro, I think he's freezing." Duo grinned from his upside down position in the face of the pale and petrified Pete.

"Jovial truce I think he's done, but peace is never lasting, fire him once see what he does-" Trowa sung along, still grinning.

"Bang! Oops, I think we broke him." Pete started in surprise as the upside down braided teen finished. Shada tilted expertly and let his feet settle on the branch. He then proceeded to literally slither down Duo's body as though he were a snake.

"Speechless for once; looks in his eyes, terror: he's seen a ghost, my lord what's wrong you can't disguise-"

"Three cheers, a virgin toast!" Duo crowed with a laugh as he held Shada. Pete decided that was the moment he'd turn on his heel and run back to school, his two remaining friend hot on his trail.

"S arrived to grin and grope!" Shada cackled, richly enjoying himself.

"T's been advantageous." Trowa was on the verge of laughing out loud.

"D's all new, but he's no Pope!" Duo added with a pinch to Shada's behind.

"But Lord! We're not contagious!" All three of them cried together before they all burst out into near hysterical laughter.

Shada continued to slide down Duo's body until his hands were on the grass. He then unhooked his legs from their position on Duo's arms and toppled over, landing firmly on his feet and straightening up. The braided teen soon followed the junior's example and landed gracefully on the ground in front of Shada.

"Delightful teen; not seen so long," Duo grinned.

"A year he's been a-searching." Trowa chimed in with the rhythm of the rhyming.

"For what, I ask, he seemed so strong." Duo was still grinning at the youth before him.

"Denied of joy; been breaking."

"But here I am, back for some fun."

"Not all is lost, no fear."

"We're back together, three as one."

"We're back, we're now, we're here." Duo ended on a whisper. Shada looked at him with moist eyes and a wide smile before launching himself at the older teen. "Hey." The senior laughed, returning the embrace tightly.

"God's alive! I missed you D."

"I know. I missed you too Shay."

As the pair were locked in their hold, Trowa nudged a highly amused Quatre from his lap before standing up. He walked towards his junior/senior hugging companions. He slowly began to circle them, making no sound as he walked but making sure they knew he was there.

"I heard of three but I see two, can this be high crime treason? I don't deny; feel left I do, but I suspect there is a reason. So what shall it be, dear friends of mine, what will your excuse hold? A witty barb? A kiss in time?" He grinned as the two teens turned to him with equally mischievous smirks on their faces.

"The greatest story ever told!" Both Duo and Shada cried before launching themselves at a laughing Trowa.

"I didn't realise you were a poet Trowa." Hilde's voice cut through the reunion bliss, forcing the three standing teenagers to remember they had an audience. They all turned to the group, sheepish smiles plastered on their faces.

"I'm not a poet. It's just a thing we used to do together. It always amused the Sister and the other children." Trowa said softly before squeezing Shada's shoulder and walking slowly back to his seat behind a smiling Quatre. "Solo used to love it too." He watched Duo at the mention of their old friend and saw the longing look flicker over the heart-shaped face.

Shada's joy faded slightly but he tightened the arm he had around Duo's waist. The older teen returned the gesture and pulled them both down to sit not far from Wufei. The junior positioned himself so his head was comfortably in his friend's lap where Duo started running his fingers lightly through Shada's shoulder length dark locks.

"Who's Solo?" Morgan asked from where she still lay against Heero's leg. The male half of the Yuy twins eyed the junior before turning his attention to Duo. He too wished to know who this 'Solo' was.

"Solo was my brother." Shada said quietly, all trace of former mirth and joy completely faded from his voice. He looked up at Duo, a silent plea in his eyes that the older of the two seemed to understand as Duo smiled and nodded his head once.

"I'll tell you all later. I don't think now's the time." Reluctantly, all interested parties nodded their acceptance and sat in a now uncomfortable silence. One Morgan was determined to break.

"So what was that," she made a vague hand gesture towards the spot where the three 'poets' were stood not two minutes before. "Some kind of an act or something? Spontaneous rhymes-R-us?" Shada actually giggled at the name where Duo laughed and Trowa smiled.

"Something like that. It was something we did together. The first time we did it, it happened purely by accident. We were bored one afternoon and Shay muttered something under his breath. Naturally curious and eager to tease, we made him tell us what he said. What was is again Shay?" Duo asked the youngest member of the group. Shada seemed to think a moment before smiling brightly.

"We three kings with nothing for fun!" He declared and Duo inclined his head.

"Ah that was it. We just sorta looked at him like he was completely off his rocker but then Trowa said something too. Enter T!" He made a sweeping hand gesture to his old friend, meaning for him to continue.

"I said 'We're bored and in our prime.'"

"I thought the two lines didn't rhyme so I made up one that did, which I guess, was Trowa's eventual aim. That is, to get us to think." The aforementioned rhymer nodded with a small smile. "I said 'We want a life, we want the sun.' We then noticed that we were actually alone with no fourth to complete it, which sucked majorly. So me and T looked at Shay as if to say 'you started it, you can finish it'. Which of course, Shay being Shay, did."

"'We're free and we've got time." Shada said with a smile.

"And that's basically how the rhyming started. We did a few more verses after that but when Solo came home we stopped. He just looked at us like we were up to no good. And naturally I was offended he could think such a thing, and told him so, which only led him to believe we were up to no good more. At that point, we jumped him. It was all good fun with the laughs, tickles etcetera."

"Naturally." Trowa commented as he ran his fingers idly through Quatre's hair.

"It was only right." Shada amended.

At that moment, the school bell sounded, signifying the end of lunch and the start of afternoon lessons. Everyone groaned.

"Come on guys, we've got gym. What fun." Quatre grumbled as they all started to rise from their seated positions.

"What have you got now Shay?" Duo asked and right on cue, Shada moaned.

"English lit." Duo laughed.

"I thought you liked English."

"I do. It's just Pete and those other guys will now be trying to make my life hell because we humiliated them." The senior nodded in understanding.

"If they start anything, just remind them you know Shinigami personally."

"Hey, wait." Shada reached into his pocket and removed a small scrap of paper before shuffling his hand around in another pocket and removing a pen. He pinned the paper to Duo's chest with his finger and began writing something. He then handed Duo then piece as he put his pen away. "My number."

"I don't know the Charlatan's. But I'll call you tonight on the vid-phone. You got one of those?" Shada nodded. "Good, I have one connected to the laptop. Come on, class awaits. I've got excuses to make." They shared a grin and rushed to catch up with the waiting group.

* * *

**Written by Diluted Industry.**


	9. Yet Another Familiar Face

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction. 

Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it. 

More Notes: This chapter might seem like it's supposed to continue from where I'm leaving it. I mean, in the sense that the chapter can't possibly be finalized yet. And I must admit, I wrote it longer but decided to cut it where I did. To make up for it, I'll post the second section tomorrow. Enjoy! 

Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**Nine: Yet Another Familiar Face.**

"I've got to talk to the teach. You know, being new and all. No kit. No precognitive abilities that could have possibly foreseen this chain of events…" Duo grinned at his new friends who were changing into their gym kits (they had been forewarned about gym) and turned around to walk down the isle towards the coaches office.

"Freak." Someone whispered.

"Fucking fag." Another said but the braided senior just laughed.

"Do better than that boys. I've heard it all before." He chuckled, halting in front of the open office door and knocked. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a hand reach out quickly and reacted on gut instinct. He grasped a tight hold of the arm, twisted it back and pulled upwards so it was packed tightly against its owners back.

He held the restrained hand in place with one of his own, reaching out his other hand, he grasped a hold of the free and flailing limb, folding it back much in the same fashion as its partner. He then shoved the captive hard against a row of lockers, bringing his lips close to the bound person's ear.

"I'll warn you once again 'Joe'. Don't cross me, don't come near me, don't approach my friends, don't go near my family, don't do anything remotely threatening against me and we'll all get along just fine. Understood?" Only whimpering met his ears. He jolted the bound arms upwards a fraction and elicited a sharp cry from the jock in front of him. "Are we understood?"

"Y-yeh. Sure." Joe stammered.

Duo sneered and pushed the near crying jock roughly away from him. "Even in my old school the jocks had sense enough to leave me alone after the first time we had a run in. I'm not trying to sound smug or vain because I'm anything but. But you… you take the fucking cake. You're a senior, Joe. Start bloody acting like one." Joe got slowly to his feet and moved without a backwards glance back to his locker. Duo shook his head. He turned towards the office again and stopped.

"What is this?" He cried in a melodramatic fashion. "Reunion day?"

"Not quite Mr Maxwell." The coach said, not quite grinning but Duo could clearly see the glee in the man's eyes. "But it's good to see you again. Even if I just caught you fighting." His student groaned.

"Please. He came at me, I was defending myself." The coach folded his arms over his chest, leaned against the door frame leading into his office and raised an eyebrow. "He did!" The braided student pouted and the coach laughed.

"I saw it all happen. Though you could have been a little easy on my football player." Duo shrugged his shoulders.

"He shouldn't have one for my braid." The coach rolled his eyes.

"God forbid anything touch the precious braid." He said dramatically.

"Alright, now, you're being a drama queen." The coach shrugged. "So which is it this time, aye? Marquise or-"

"It's Marquise." The coach said quickly. "Zechs Marquise still." Duo smiled sadly and moved to walk into the coaches office. The coach allowed it and followed, closing and locking the door behind him.

"You need to stop running." The student of the pair leaned back against the desk with his legs crossed at the ankles.

"I'll stop when I think I have to." Zechs near snapped. "Sorry. We haven't had to deal with each other for a long time." Duo nodded.

"No, we haven't. Did you know Trowa and Shada came here?" The coach nodded. "Have either approached you?"

"I did. And they have done once or twice."

"Alright then. Well, I'm new here." Duo smiled brightly. "I don't have a kit yet and no towel for washing up after." Zech nodded again. "So what do I do? What are you doing today anyway?"

"I wasn't going to do anything too hectic today. Just a few laps around the track, some stretches then a short game of basketball." Duo grinned.

"If you give me 15 minutes to go home, get my things and get back, I can meet the class out on track. Or, you could loan me some things and a towel. But I'll be borrowing your brush too." Zechs seemed to think no the matter for a moment before nodding his head.

"I don't want brown hairs on my brush. You have fifteen minute. Any longer and I'm calling you up for a spar in front of the class and scrapping the basketball." Duo nodded an affirmative, topping it off with a mock-salute before rushing from the office.

He walked quickly to his friends, informed them what was going on and left the locker room.

He rounded the corner that would get him onto the corridor his locker was situated and almost bumped into the 'man in charge' in his rush. However, he saw the Head of the school in time and quickly side-stepped to avoid collision.

"Sorry Mr K! Gotta run." He then sprinted down to his locker, inputted the code, opened it, removed his helmet and closed it again. He was fishing around his pockets in search for the keys to his bike while walking towards the main entrance, passing a completely flabbergasted head teacher without so much as a sideward glance.

"Mr Maxwell! Stop right there!" Mr Kushrenada recovered and called out. Duo stopped, looked around and groaned.

"Sorry sir but I really have to go. I have to collect my kit, get back to the locker rooms, get changed and on the track in 15 minutes or Zechs is calling me out. I cannot stop to chat. Maybe later! See you sir!" With those words, he was gone. And Mr Kushrenada was left blinking at the spot his newest senior student had just vacated.

Six minutes later saw Duo bolting from his bike and running into the Charlatan's house. He didn't even stop to say hi to Mrs C who was sat out in the garden enjoying a cup of tea with Kei Yuy. He just ran through the open front door, upstairs and into his room where he then proceeded to figuratively ransack his clothing.

He saw that the clothes he'd been wearing for his morning run had been removed from his room; probably washed by Mrs C so he made a point to look for his second set of work out clothes. He picked up his school bag and began stuffing random items inside it: hair brush, hand cream, shorts, tank top, towel taken from bathroom, trainers and socks. Without thinking, he slipped in a bandana for good measure.

Then after closing the door to his room, he ran back out, onto his bike and drove back to school at a not illegal-but certainly pushing it speed.

All of this was done with his helmet still firmly on his head.

A further six minutes after he set off from the Charlatan's house he was back at school. He removed his helmet, locked his bike up and ran towards the main entrance. Instead of going to his locker to put his helmet back, he just took it to the gym locker room with him.

He knew he had all of 2 minutes to change and get onto the track and he knew he wouldn't be able to make it.

"Fuck." He muttered to himself. He changed, slipped his clothes, helmet, bag and shoes into the locker before closing and locking it. He tied the laces on his trainers and tied his bandana firmly around his head. He then made his way at a more leisurely pace towards the track, remembering the directions Heero had given him 15 minutes earlier.

When he finally arrived at the track, he was greeted with a grinning coach Marquise and an equally amused Head teacher. He politely gave Zechs the finger and began stretching.

"Sorry about before Mr K!" Duo said as he stretched his legs.

"It has all been explained to me Mr Maxwell, do not worry yourself on the matter." The Mr K said with a smile.

"Alright then. Ok Zechs sir, how many laps? And how long is one lap?" He did his final couple of stretches and loosened himself up.

"The length of the course is a full 400m and I would like you to do three laps." Duo groaned.

"Can we make it an even four?" He asked. "Then I can cut a mile off my total tonight." Zechs raised an eyebrow.

"How far do you run a day?" He asked his student.

"Well today I was planning on running 6 miles. But I went with Heero this morning and he only ran 3 so if I do another mile here, then I only have two to do tonight." He explained and Zechs nodded.

"Very well. Do four laps. The class will be finished by then and after you stretch and warm down, we can spar." He grinned at the finger he was shown again and watched as his student entered the track on an inside lane.

He set off a jog and gradually caught up with his friends, who were, rather oddly, all together in a group. Morgan and Hilde had joined them too.

"Man I didn't think I'd get to see you in those shorts twice in one day." Hilde said with a grin. Duo just laughed.

"They make for easy movement. Why are you all together? And how many laps do you have left?" He asked.

"We're together because it's easier than being on your own, it makes for better conversation and less boring gym lessons. And this is our final lap because we only had to do two. Why, how many do you have?" Morgan questioned.

"I rounded it up to four. This way, I won't have to run more tonight. And I can give Zechs at least a fighting chance at beating me." He grinned more to himself than anyone else.

"Who's Zechs?" Quatre asked from where was running beside Trowa.

"Sorry, Mr Marquise. We used to know each other and I don't think I'll be getting out of the habit of calling him Zechs just for school purposes." Trowa chuckled.

"You're having quite the day today aren't you?" He asked lightly and snickered at the sour look that passed over Duo's face.

"Don't remind me. I keep expecting Si, Joany or Danni to pop out from around a corner whenever I walk down the corridors." He muttered.

"Who are they?" Morgan asked, moving closer to her 'brother'.

"Old friends." Was the only answer the braided student would give but Morgan knew he'd tell her in his own time.

"What did you mean when you said you could give the coach a chance at beating you?" Wufei enquired, genuinely interested. "Are you fighting? I thought we were all going to play basketball after these laps are over with."

"I don't know about the rest of you. But Zechs and me are sparring. I don't know why whenever we bump into each other he insists on a spar. I always beat him. Even if they are only spars, we make it seem like a fight." He saw the finish line approach and said his goodbye's to his friends. He kept running as they all exited the track. Some were panting but Heero and Trowa weren't even winded.

Joe and his band of merry snickered as they saw Duo continue to run the track.

"Serves him right." The lead-jock muttered to his friends. "Shouldn't have come late to class." His friends patted him on the back and laughed dumbly at the 'new kid'.

Three laps later saw Duo run off the track and stop at the sidelines. He wasn't breathing heavily but it wasn't his normal rate of breath either. He nodded to the coach and Zechs called the class to order, the head teacher still stood at his side.

* * *

**Written by Diluted Industry.**


	10. And So It Continues

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction.

Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it.

Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

**Ten: And so it Continues.**

_Joe and his band of merry snickered as they saw Duo continue to run the track._

_"Serves him right."__ The lead-jock muttered to his friends. "Shouldn't have come late to class." His friends patted him on the back and laughed dumbly at the 'new kid'._

_Three laps later saw Duo run off the track and stop at the sidelines. He wasn't breathing heavily but it wasn't his normal rate of breath either. He nodded to the coach and Zechs called the class to order, the head teacher still stood at his side._

**x-x-x-x-x**

"Alright guys. This term Mr Kushrenada and I have discussed a new area of physical education the school hasn't really had before. And though I'm sure a number of you can take care of yourself pretty well…" He eyed the smug faces of Joe and his friends for a moment before continuing. "We'd like to introduce self-defence to your gym lessons." Murmurs broke out over the class.

"When we say self-defence, we mean it. The techniques taught here should not be use in any situation other than self defence. It isn't the art of fighting with fists as you would in a bar-room brawl." The head teacher said loudly.

"Been in a few of those sir?" Duo grinned from where he was stretching. Mr K graced him with a smile and a nod.

"I'm afraid to say I have. They aren't all that pretty. Now we're not going to force you to take these lessons. If you so wish it, you can carry on with the usual term of gym lessons. Players in the football teams will be far too busy with training to worry about these classes as your first game is a only a few weeks away." Joe nodded, followed closely by his 'friends'. "Those who would like to go through with the classes can, of course, take them. Arrangements will be made for those who don't. For this lesson, Mr Marquise and a student will be sparring – demonstrating their knowledge of self defence. I must stress that the level Mr Marquise and the student in question are at is a very advanced level. They have the ability to spar with practised ease and not worry about accidentally injuring one another."

"Get up there then Chang!" Joe crowed and laughed with his friends.

Wufei frowned at the Jock. "I'd much rather test my fighting… sorry, self defence abilities on you. As you, clearly, have none." He snapped, not at all snippy. The comment drew satisfied grins from the Chinese teen's friends and heated scowls from the Jocks.

"Mr Chang will not be the one I will be sparring with today. Maybe some other time though?" The coach aimed the last statement at Wufei, speaking it as a question and receiving an accepting nod as an answer.

"Who will you be with then sir?" Paul Mayson, a senior in the same Math and Chemistry class as Heero, asked the coach.

"Me." Duo spoke up with a grin. He walked up to Zechs and threw his arms around the man's shoulders. "Though Zechs has yet to hold a win over me so I'm not sure how this one will fan out." He laughed as his arm was shrugged off. "Don't be sore Zechs! I couldn't help it if you got distracted by something behind me." The coach glared without malice.

"You rigged it." He grumbled. Beside him, Trieze chuckled.

"Come now. No talk of cheating. This isn't a win/lose spar. It's simple self-defence."

"Sorry Mr k!" Duo chirped. "But you see, with Zechs here… nothing is simple. We'll be going till one of us gives or gets pinned for three." He grinned at the worried look in the head teachers eyes. "Don't worry! I'll have your coach back in one piece."

"Past experiences have given you luck Maxwell." Zechs growled.

"You're just a sore loser." Duo smirked and yelped at the teacher lunged at him. The student ran quickly to hide behind Mr K. "No fair! See! He's the cheater." The head of the school just rolled his eyes.

"How do you two know each other?" A girl asked from somewhere in the crowd of seated seniors.

"Oh me and Zechs go 'way' back!" Shinigami answered. "Years we've known each other. You know, he's only-" A strong hand clamped itself over Duo's mouth, effectively silencing him from revealing the age of the Gym coach.

"I would appreciate any personal notes you might have of me, personal. Understood?" Zechs muttered into Duo's ear and released him when he felt the head nod. "Anyway, shall we begin?" The senior growled playfully at the older man earning both of them laughs from the seated class as well as a chuckle from the still present head teacher.

"Buckle up Blondie." Duo grinned, positioning himself into his usual starting stance inside the allocated (marked out) circular section of field while his opponent did the same.

"May I remind both participants that the spar is just that, a spar, and neither should attempt to gain the upper hand over the other?" Trieze said, hoping in vain that his message would get across to the pair.

"You can remind us Mr K." Were the only words Duo verbalised before bowing slightly to Zechs and launching into a starting round of kicks and evasive manoeuvres for when the other man made a return attack.

Several kicks later found both 'fighters' (I use the term very loosely) in positions opposite of their starting ones. Neither seemed winded but neither was breathing as they normally would. Zechs' expression was even, giving nothing away to his opponent. Duo's quickly became flat too; his jesters face long gone replaced by a seemingly emotionless mask. A 'Poker face', if you will.

They launched into yet another flurry of precise, practised, perfected movements; each hitting its target and each gaining a reaction both expected and unexpected.

The students and Mr K all watched on wide-eyed and jaw-slacked as both teacher and student figuratively battled for dominance of the marked ring. They tensed collectively when Zechs sent a contacting kick to the back of Duo's right thigh, effectively knocking the Senior to the ground on his hands and knees. But they all released the breaths they'd been holding when the younger of the sparring pair twisted his body around in a manoeuvre that looked like it took a lot, of practise to perfect and kicked the coaches legs from under him.

Within seconds, both fighters were back up on their feet and in starting stances once again.

"You've improved." Zechs remarked with a wry smirk.

"It's been along time Zechs." Duo retorted as they circled.

"I approve." The tone was mocking but the Senior knew there was nothing behind it.

"You're not too bad yourself… for a guy that went down within ten minutes the first time I fought him." The coach let out a playful growl – a growl Duo only grinned at.

"Less talk."

"More play."

And they began again.

Wufei was practically salivating at the pair's movements. He's thought previously that he had been the only person, save Heero, in the school to have training in martial arts but after seeing this display, he thought twice. He sparred with Heero on the odd occasion but that was only when they were both pissed off at the world and knew that nothing other than hand-to-hand combat would calm them down.

He made a mental note to request a spar from either his new friend or the coach. Perhaps both. Separately of course.

Trowa was smiling secretively at the display; his eyes showed hidden knowledge and the look on his face could only be described as mildly mischievous… should anyone take note of it however.

Beside him, Quatre was staring wide-eyed. In its own hard-hitting way – no pun intended – the scene was beautiful. Like a piece of fine art. That can hit, and hit back. The pair seemed to dance in complete synchronisation and if the scene out of the corner of his eye was anything to go by, Quatre and his friends would surely be seeing Duo go against the Chinese senior in the near future.

He was sure to get a front row seat.

Morgan sat beside Hilde who in turn sat beside the girl with the dark blonde hair that had commented dumbly on Shinigami that morning. While both Morgan and Hilde watched in awe at the spar before them, the girl watched in a very bored manner. Hilde seemed to notice this and rolled her eyes, muttering something about prissy cheerleaders not knowing true art when they see it, under her breath.

But Morgan heard. And grinned.

Heero was sat behind Trowa and Quatre and beside Wufei. He was shocked. Completely and utterly flabbergasted. He'd known Duo liked to keep himself in shape but he never dreamed that the other teen could fight like he was. He knew what Wufei's reaction would be to the act and he also knew that his Chinese friend would not be the only one to ask Heero's new next-door-neighbour for a 'friendly sparring session'.

There were tense moments in the fight and there were moments of desperation, humour, defence, offence as well as pure, near gravity defying flexibility.

At one point, Zechs managed to get Duo on his back, winded from landing flat on it. The older man had quickly set up for a win and straddled his younger counterpart's chest. He grasped Duo's forearms tightly, restraining any upper body movement and proceeded to grin down at the teen, counting slowly up from one.

"One." He'd said.

Duo twisted his hips, nudging Zechs slightly but not dislodging him. His legs bent at the knee, feet flat on the ground, parallel with his back.

"Two."

Using as much leverage as his feet would grant him, he thrust upwards with his hips. Zechs slipped forward, but recovered quickly and slid back down Duo's chest so they were near flush hip to hip. Duo had the mind not to grin as his legs lifted in the air and both his knees bore down on the coach's shoulder blades. Hard.

Three never came. Zechs grunted, releasing his hold on his student's arms and rolling to the side.

"You're making me let out all my secret moves Sugarbutt." Duo grinned an annoyed but humoured grin. They circled. Zechs gave a sour look at the nickname.

"You're inventive and given the right incentive, you can defend yourself admirably." He saw Duo's grin widen and groaned. "But even the best have their bad days." He smirked and they started again.

That had been only one incident. A display of Zechs' own flexibility as well as the gymnast ability piled into his muscled form came not five minutes after the two-count pin.

Duo dropped to a crouch behind the older man, extended his right leg and spun around, fully intending to take out Zechs' legs for the second time in the 'spar' but the Coach was having none of it as was clearly proven when the man did a backward flip after bending his legs and putting all the power he could behind the spring he needed. He figuratively walked over the out-stretched leg, grasped it just as it passed under his upturned head and when his feet were on the ground once again, Duo had been flipped over unceremoniously onto his stomach.

Of course, the braided Shinigami wasn't amused and retorted with a sharp kick to Zechs' mid-section. He then rolled over the exposed back as the older man doubled over and then proceeded to take out the coach's legs, straddling his opponent's backside for good measure. He planted a hand in the centre of Zechs' back, the other one firmly at the next and held tightly.

"In a position like this Sugarbutt, the days the best have can only be good." His voice was low enough for only Zechs to be able to hear, and the older man knew it, appreciating it too.

"In a position like this, Darling, one can easily forget ones place." But before Zechs could perform a manoeuvre that would get Duo off his back, the braided teen voluntarily rolled off, getting into the umpteenth starting stance of the match.

"Time gentlemen." Mr K's soft voice filtered their hazy minds and both of them nodded once.

"A round up?" The coach grinned, flicking his loosely bound mid-back-length platinum blonde hair over his shoulder and out of his face.

"Why I don't mind if I do." Duo matched the grin.

The fight continued.

Kicks, jabs, dull thumps, winded falls…

Until Duo managed to get Zechs down and spread like an eagle on his back. Of course, he quickly took command of the situation by physically restraining the blonde's arms above his head and then leaning down so there were no more than three inches between their mouths, he moved his legs so they pinned Zechs' firmly to the ground. He then counted.

"One." Zechs sighed.

"Two." Duo grinned.

"Three." Came the final whisper. "I win again."

**Written by Diluted Industry.**


	11. Talks

Disclaimer: I do not, and will never claim ownership over Gundam Wing or any of its characters. They belong to people that aren't me. I'm just satisfying my lust for fiction. 

Notes: Just to make this perfectly clear, I don't know where I'm taking this story. I'm just going with the flow so it will no doubt, become a long one with many-a-chapter. Hope it's enjoyed by all who read it. 

Notes… the rest: This chapter, for all intents and purposes, is a filler. So don't be disappointed with its lack of interesting content. I've also reached the end of my reserves so you, the readers, will have to bear with me while I write more. It shouldn't take long but I've got school among other responsibilities. I apologise in advance for any delays. Enjoy the chapter. 

Warning: SLASH!-Yaoi. Whatever you people call it. Male/male relationships! Mild-angst. AU! I'll add more if I think it's necessary.

* * *

**Eleven: Talks.**

"Don't fret yourself Quat. T used to do this for me all the time, didn't you T?" He grinned thankfully up at the teen who was carrying him.

"That I did." Trowa said wryly. "His stamina suddenly fades when the three-fall goes." At this, Duo pouted, sticking his tongue out for good measure. The rest of the group laughed save Quatre, whose cheeks decided it was high time to blush heavily.

"I'll have you know, I could keep going all-"

"We really, really don't want to hear about that D." The tall senior laughed, sending a smile to his partner as he did spoke.

"Aww you're no fun anymore. Quat's got you wrapped around his lil finger, doesn't he?" When he received no answer he just laughed.

**x-x-x-x-x**

"I never realised you could fight… let alone that you were that good." Morgan said with a grin as Duo, Heero, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, Hilde and herself made their way towards the car park at the end of the school day. Wufei nodded.

"I agree, your skills are quite remarkable. I would very much enjoy the chance to spar with you myself." The Chinese teen said with a small smile. Duo grinned at them.

"Cool. I'd love to. But you gotta know that the way I spar with Zechs, or anyone else for that matter, is completely different from the way I'd defend myself should the need arise. I fight to protect and defend. I don't go looking to start things." He explained idly but with a firmness underlining his tone.

"An understandable and commendable trait. I'm curious as to how I would fair against you when you do not hold yourself back." Wufei commented and Duo shrugged.

"I don't want to sound vain or give the impression that I have an ego, because I don't, but I can be deadly when I fight. The last guy that was stupid enough to step foot inside the ground of the Orphanage with ill intentions was sent to hospital with a broken leg, wrist and more than a few cracked ribs; his face caught a few punches too. But, I didn't come out of that fight injury-free either. I broke my right arm, bruise a few ribs and cracked a couple more."

By the time Duo had finished his speech, the group had reached the edge of the car park and the parking space where the famed, as it were, Shinigami sat.

"I think I will settle for the spar. I enjoy my ribs being in their none bruised, none cracked state." Wufei said with a mild grin. Duo laughed at the comment.

"A wise choice my friend." He knelt down beside his bike and quickly removed the bike-lock. He then opened the under-seat compartment, removed the helmet inside and after handing it to Heero, he slipped the lock into the now-empty hold as well as the bag he'd retrieved earlier with his gym things in. He then let the seat fall closed and settled himself atop of it, straddling the bike. "Ok, I'm new. Does anything overly interesting happen on school nights?" He asked the surrounding group. He saw Heero step up to the bike and settle behind him.

"Well… we usually go home straight after school, get ourselves fed and then go round to a set persons house to get our homework done in peace." Quatre offered the information with a smile.

"Cool. Whose house is it tonight? I've got plenty of homework to be getting done." Duo enquired as he slipped the key into the ignition.

"It's actually ours tonight brother dear." Morgan grinned. "Mom and Dad usually go out whenever it's my turn to host. Usually they only go to the Yuy's but sometimes they wonder." Smiling, Duo nodded.

"Alright then. I guess I'll see you all later." The group nodded.

"Later you two. Duo, don't you go getting my brother injured on that thing." Hilde stood directly in front of the bike with her hands on her hips, a stern expression on her face. Duo just grinned as he slipped his own helmet on and clipped it into place.

"I'll give him the ride of his life Sweetness." He grinned, though no one saw, as he felt Heero's arms tighten around his mid-section. "Later." He started up the engine, slowly turned the bike around and sped away from his new group of friends.

The bike ride was as short as it had been that morning but it was none-the-less exhilarating. Duo soon pulled into the Charlatan's drive way and cut the engine. Heero slid off the bike and removed his helmet, handing it back to its owner.

"Thanks for the lift." The Yuy twin said with a small smile. "Me and Hil will be round later." He turned around and started to walk from the garden. When he got to the gate however, he stopped and turned back. "Oh, and what makes you think you can possibly give me the ride of my life?" He grinned at the braided teen who had been in the process of rising into a standing position after putting on the bike lock. His new neighbour blinked before returning the grin with his own smirk.

"Any time baby. I'll give you the ride only your dreams can cock up for you." He either didn't notice his word slip, or it had been intentional. Either way, Heero stared for another moment, still grinning, before turning to walk down the path all of 10 ft to his garden gate. He forced himself not to blush at the reply he'd received but was finding it extremely difficult.

Back beside his bike, Duo waited until he saw Heero's front door close firmly behind him before releasing the amused, yet warm chuckle that had been waiting patiently in the back of his throat. He shrugged his bag over one shoulder, picked up both of his helmets and walked towards the house. When he was inside with the door closed behind him, he wiped his feet unconsciously and made a beeline for the kitchen, stopping once to poke his head inside the door to the living room (finding it empty).

When he arrived in the kitchen he found it not so empty. In fact, both Mrs C and Kei (Mrs Yuy) were sat at the table with cups of tea in front of them. He inclined his head respectfully in their direction and set his helmets carefully on the work-top for the moment.

"How was school today Duo?" Mrs C asked him as he picked out a clean glass from the glass cupboard and went to fill it with water.

"Surprisingly," He began with a mild grin. "It was great. I met some very old friends of mine. I didn't even know they were in the city! Let alone in the next area! I have to tell you; seeing Trowa stood there… it brought back memories." He paused for a fleeting second before shaking his head, smiling brightly. "It was fantastic! We hadn't seen each other in five years, almost to the day. I had all my classes with him today, so I wasn't too overwhelmed by it all. I got into a little spat with a group of Jocks who decided threatening Roe was a good idea, but we didn't come to blows." He immediately saw the worry laced in his near-adoptive-mother's eyes.

"Is she alright?" Mrs C asked franticly.

"She's fine! The guy only threatened her because she was stood near my bike and refused to step away. You know the rumours about the bike. Anyway, not the point. Roe's fine, everyone's fine. In fact, everything's great. I met another one of my old friends! His name's Shada. God it felt great to see that kid again. We had a little fun with one of the bullies he seemed to have found himself tied up in – even Trowa joined in." The teen grinned as he sipped his water.

"Joined in what, exactly?" Kei asked, genuinely interested.

"Together, Tro', Shada and I… we rhyme. Well, I guess it's kind of difficult to explain, so I won't bother. Maybe some other time when I'm not in dire need of a run." He grinned at the women once again. "I'll just leave you two fine ladies to your tea." With a dramatic bow, Duo picked up his helmets (his bag was still on his back) and slipped out of the kitchen, fully intending to go upstairs, change into yet another clean running outfit and go for the rest of his run.

He paused at the foot of the stairs, his mind wondering. Curiously, he walked back down the hall and poked his head into the kitchen. "You didn't happen to wash… anything of mine today did you Mrs C?" He asked the woman who was now stood at an open cupboard, retrieving a packet of biscuits.

"Ah! Yes I did. I knew there was something I'd forgot to tell you. Yes. Though I left your tank top in the bathroom for a reason that escapes me at the moment." She smiled at the teen apologetically. He just laughed, thanked her for washing his things, and made his way up to his room, leaving the tank top where it was for the time being.

Once he was inside his room he closed his door and opened a window. He set both bike helmets on top of the set of drawers, un-shrugged his bag from his shoulder, setting it down on the bed followed closely by his jacket. He removed his top and sat down facing his laptop – already connected up to the internet and phone lines. He'd asked Mr and Mrs C if he could use the phone every once in a while –to call Sister Helena and they had said he was allowed to do so, as long as the conversations were not excessively long. He fished out the number Shada had given him earlier that day and dialled through his laptop, effectively bringing into operation the vid-phone built-in to its mainframe.

The phone rang three times before it was picked up by a woman with mousy brown hair that fell to her shoulders. She had a kindly look about her that made Duo instantly at ease. The woman seemed, from Duo's point of view, to be pleasantly buxom, she looked as though she walked with a smile on her face wherever she went. But her eyes – warm hazel – told the braided teen she wasn't a woman to be taken lightly.

He liked her.

"Hello?" The woman said, smiling in amusement at the half-dressed image of the teenage boy on the screen

Duo grinned brightly. "Hello there good lady. I was given this number today by a friend… so I called, naturally, with hopes of speaking with a certain young man going by the name Shada… or Shay, as my own and one other's case may be."

"You're a friend of Shada's? That's sweet. I don't think I've ever answered the phone to one of his friends before. But then again, he did fall in with a rough crowd…" The last part she said mostly to herself. Duo frowned slightly, thoughts whirling around in his mind but never passing his lips. The woman suddenly turned her thoughtful look into a frown as she narrowed her eyes at Duo's image. "You're not one of those friends are you?" She demanded to know and Duo instantly raised his hands in defence.

"Woah! No! But he won't be around those friends anymore. Shay's a good kid, if a little miss-guided in recent years. But I suppose it was to be a given. Anyway, not the point, is he home? I'd really like to speak to him again." He asked her, but she was still frowning. He sighed. "Alright, my Lady. Ask me anything you like, anything about Shada no one should know but him and you… as you're obviously asking the questions here."

There was a long pause before anyone started speaking again. And it was the woman's voice that was heard first. "Who is closest to Shada's heart in all the people he's ever known and loved?" She asked him, diving in straight at the deep end. Duo was half-temped to joke 'What? No favourite food questions'. But realised that wouldn't be appreciated.

"Solo was, might still be, but I like to think I've got a pretty deep place there too. And Trowa of course." He answered truthfully.

"His brother is very close to his heart. But who are you? I have heard of this 'Trowa', and he seems very nice." She said and Duo laughed a little.

"He's the personification of nice is our Trowa. Oh, I forgot my manners. I do apologise. My name is Duo Maxwell. Shada, Trowa, Solo and myself were all at the Joseph's Orphanage together." He explained. "Is he there please?"

"You're the infamous Duo?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Yes he's here. He's just taking a shower as he just got home from school. He shouldn't be long." She stared at him until he started fidgeting under her gaze. She seemed to notice and blinked twice. "How can I be sure you are Duo Maxwell?" She questioned. Duo reached behind him and brought his braid forward, holding it out for her to see clearly.

"You see any other teenagers with hair as long as mine?" She openly gaped at the 3ft long braid.

"Good lord. It's so good to finally speak with you Duo Maxwell." She said warmly after a pause for thought.

* * *

**Written by Diluted Industry.**


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